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Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico Kemp’s Ridley (endangered) Leatherback (endangered) Hawksbill (endangered) Green (endangered) Loggerhead (threatened)

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Presentation on theme: "Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico Kemp’s Ridley (endangered) Leatherback (endangered) Hawksbill (endangered) Green (endangered) Loggerhead (threatened)"— Presentation transcript:

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2 Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico Kemp’s Ridley (endangered) Leatherback (endangered) Hawksbill (endangered) Green (endangered) Loggerhead (threatened)

3 The Impact of Oil on Already Vulnerable Sea Turtle Populations Direct mortality due to oil in lungs Direct mortality due to oiled shells/bodies preventing normal feeding behaviors Indirect mortality due to compromised breathing ability decreasing likelihood of survival when caught in shrimp/fish trawling nets Indirect mortality due to decreased prey as a result of the oil spill

4 Sea Turtle Deaths Linked to Deepwater Horizon Even with only a minimal effort expended in search missions, NOAA has confirmed 594 dead sea turtles in the immediate area around the oil spill – and another 536 that were oiled and potentially injured (in addition to 6,104 dead birds and 97 dead mammals)

5 Making Matters Worse: In-situ Burns in Sea Turtle Habitat In-situ burn – an oil mitigation strategy where boats corral oil into a thick sludge on top of sargassum grass mats and burn the oil (and everything caught in the oil sludge)

6 Animal Welfare Inst. v. BP America, Inc., Civ. No. 10-1866 (E.D. La.) June 25 – Story breaks on Capt. Mike Ellis’s claims of turtles burned alive June 29 – ESA/OCSLA Notice letter submitted to BP June 30 – Complaint and TRO motion filed against BP July 1 – Amended complaint and TRO motion filed against BP and the U.S. Coast Guard July 2 – Interim settlement agreement reached July 3-31 – Defendants satisfy obligations of interim agreement August 3 – Plaintiffs dismiss case after obtaining substantial victory (Defendants created mandatory turtle observer program, agreed to only hire qualified third-party turtle biologists as observers, made all observer data sheets available to the public, adopted official in-situ burn wildlife protocols, and solicited input from the independent scientific community)


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