Marine turtles, once abundant marine reptiles, are now in serious trouble around the world. Six of the world's seven species of marine turtles are found in U.S. waters and all are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Furthermore, under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), international trade of all seven species is prohibited. Yet even with these stringent protections in place, sea turtle populations continue to decline around the world, and some may become extinct within the next few years.
Marine turtles are long-lived, late maturing, and highly migratory, thus they are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of habitat loss, bycatch and pollution particularly in the form of marine debris. Poaching and illegal trade of wild populations also seriously threaten some species. While years of work have proven successful in some areas - particularly in the United States, funding for such efforts internationally continues to be limited. H.R. 3378 addresses this deficiency by providing much-needed financial assistance to foreign countries for projects to conserve nesting turtles and their eggs and address the threats from poaching and illegal trade. This Act authorizes $5.0 million in annual appropriations for a Marine Turtle Conservation Fund established for this purpose.
H.R. 3378 is patterned after other multinational species conservation bills (e.g., Rhino-Tiger, Great Apes). It directs the Secretary of Interior to establish a program to review, approve, and fund qualified marine turtle conservation projects in foreign countries to conserve nesting marine turtles and to prevent illegal trade in their parts and products. Like the multinational species bills enacted to date, H.R. 3378 should be very successful in building partnerships and leveraging millions of dollars from private and other sources of funding to support projects critical to species conservation. This act is critically needed to ensure the successes of ongoing sea turtle conservation efforts in the U.S. are not lost when the animals migrate to other countries. The Marine Turtle Conservation Act is endorsed by the National Fisheries Institute, a trade organization, and a number of conservation organizations.
H.R. 3378 will support and encourage regional and international activities and cooperation to help save the following species of sea turtles around the world:
The hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) is one of the few vertebrates that eats sponges, a diet akin to glass. Exploited intensively for its beautiful shell or tortoiseshell since ancient times, many populations are now remnants of their former size.
Tens of thousands of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are captured for food each year. Hunting during Lent is driving the distinct subpopulation of black turtles in Mexico toward extinction. Adults feed on sea grass and algae and may live 70 or more years.
Kemp's ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii) nest mainly on one beach in the Gulf of Mexico and forage in the Gulf and along the eastern U.S. seaboard. Considered the world's rarest marine turtle, the nesting population fell from 40,000 to 300 females between 1947 and 1985. Thanks to more than 30 years of nesting beach protection and conservation at sea, the population is increasing. In 2003 approximately 3,600 turtles nested.
With the exception of the United States and Oman, loggerheads (Caretta caretta) are now scarce around the world. The species is on the brink of extinction in the Pacific.
Olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) emerge from the sea en mass to form large nesting aggregations. Olive and Kemp's ridleys are the smallest turtles, often weighing less than 100 pounds. Millions of olive ridleys have been killed to make leather boots and other products. Today, Atlantic and SE Asian populations are small and especially at risk.
Often weighing more than 1,000 pounds, the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest and most wide-ranging marine turtle. Leatherbacks feed primarily on jellyfish and roam the world's oceans in search of prey. Egg collection and accidental capture in fisheries are major threats.
For more information on sea turtles and the threats they face, please visit The Ocean Conservancy's Website.
