ESR SPECIAL PrePrint (2009) - Abstract

ABSTRACT: We conducted a 2 yr study of small juvenile green sea turtles Chelonia mydas in an estuary in North Carolina, USA, to examine how turtle behavior affected their vulnerability to incidental capture in an artisanal gill net fishery. We used sonic and satellite telemetry to track the movements and habitat use of 10 green turtles during the summers of 2005 and 2006. Individual turtles established summer foraging sites and showed very strong fidelity to particular tidal creeks and marsh islands. Turtles were strongly associated with seagrass habitat and were easily disturbed by natural and anthropogenic activity. We found that green turtles and gill net fishers exhibited similar habitat preferences, leading to the potential for entanglement, a finding corroborated by 8 yr of by-catch records. Individual turtles interacted with multiple gears during our study as a result of fishing activity in their small home ranges.

KEY WORDS: By-catch · Gill nets · Telemetry · Sea turtles