An Analysis and Resolution of the Loggerhead Sea Turtles “Endangered Species” Status

Be Aware that this was my bio final lol

The species that I’m choosing is the loggerhead sea turtle. Loggerhead populations in the United States declined due to bycatch in fishing gear such as trawls, gillnets, and longlines. The use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawls, gillnet bans, and other gear modification have reduced sea turtle bycatch in some fisheries, but bycatch in fishing gear remains the biggest threat facing loggerheads (Fisheries, NOAA. “Loggerhead Turtle.”). According to the Endangered Species Act , “the term ‘‘endangered species’’ means any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range …”. The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973, and explicitly states: “the United States has pledged itself as a sovereign state in the international community to conserve to the extent practicable the various species of fish or wildlife and plants facing extinction, pursuant to” and then goes on to list different treaties it works in conjunction with. The goal of the Act is to conserve various species of fish and wildlife. Under the ESA, the loggerhead sea turtle is considered endangered. (“Endangered Species Act.” Official Web Page of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service)

There are 5 main reasons the loggerhead sea turtle is considered endangered. Its habits are dealing with the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range, it’s being overutilized for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes, dies to disease or predation, deals with an inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms to address identified threats, and/or is often fisher bycatch. Starting off, loggerhead sea turtles are primarily endangered because the habitats which they most often live in are destroyed by modification, curtailment, or full-blown demolition. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Coastline development and alteration is a practice that we are all too familiar with as Miami residents. We are constantly utilizing anthropogenic processes to try to combat issues such as climate change and algae blooms, both of which are our fault in the first place. There’s not much that can be done about natural erosion but all the anthropogenic processes we partake in and promote are eroding our beaches and the habitat of the loggerhead sea turtle. After some years of degradation of these habits through erosion, the number of nests laid on the habitats will decrease exponentially, effectively crippling the loggerhead sea turtle population. This is not an issue inherent to Miami as the vast majority of coastal cities around the United States participate in their own forms of anthropogenic processes. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

The continuation of anthropogenic processes in contemporary coastal Japan has shown that armored beaches such as those with concrete revetment and sea walls have significantly less nesting attempts by female loggerhead sea turtles and a lower success rate at that. It leads to females attempting to nest in areas susceptible to inundation (an abundance of people or anthropogenic processes) which almost always leads to premature death of their babies, beach morphology (its sediment profile; the shape of the beach) being negatively affected which leads to less effective safety procedures post-nesting, and a reduction in shoreline resiliency, which would make the beaches more susceptible to being negatively affected by natural erosion. This would undeniably kill premature loggerhead babies but would also affect the nesting rate of that beach. One of the biggest issues that factors in is that they are constantly evolving. In cities like Miami, anthropogenic processes through beach armoring become more and more common as we see the negative effects of climate change play out. As the sea level rises, so does our sea wall. Our beaches are constantly under attack by both anthropogenic structures but also natural erosion due to hurricanes and flooding. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Other anthropogenic structures on beaches that affect loggerhead sea turtle nesting rates are detachments, jetties, and general sand-trapping structures. These large, usually concrete structures change the physical profile of beaches including their width due to things like downdrift erosion, the loss of sandy berms (a long narrow ridge of loose material), and escarpment (a steep slope or long cliff) formation. Essentially, the development of sand-trapping based anthropogenic structures lead to the destruction of natural beach structures and the development of unnatural structures on beaches. There are more regional-based practices like the usage of bamboo mats along the Ichinomiya coach or certain anthropogenic structures obstructing the sand transfer that’s so vital to the Miyazaki coast, but generally the usage of sand-trapping based anthropogenic structures such as detachments, jetties, embankments, and breakwaters obstructs currents and shifts the locations of hatchling emergence, often disorienting the sea turtle females as well as their babies, leading to less nesting and less hatching success. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

The last beach based anthropogenic process that threatens the loggerhead sea turtle is coastal development through urban projects such as the construction of roads, highways, hotels, ports, and harbors. A very very low percentage of loggerhead sea turtle nesting sites are untouched as most have eroded due to the construction of obstructing anthropogenic processes such as yacht harbors and airports. Think about our beaches in Miami. Our exacerbated consumer and tourist culture has led to the construction of artificial beaches all over Miami. Many coastal cities deal with tourist based economies leading to extreme coastal development all over the world. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

We cannot forget to talk about non-beach based anthropogenic processes that negatively affect the loggerhead sea turtle population. Light pollution is an issue that primarily affects the hatchlings, not the adult loggerhead sea turtle females. An abundance of lights in coastal towns and cities will often lead to loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings crawling inland rather than the sea. After crawling inland, the vast majority of them are killed by passing vehicles, being crushed under the weight of cars and trucks after not even a day of living. Even if they somehow survive vehicular death, they still incur very high mortality rates due to dehydration, exhaustion, or predation. These are babies so they’re not developed well enough to be able to acclimate to inland climates and conditions, especially not in urban areas. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Light as minimal as the headlights of cars could lead to the disorientation of hatchlings, but anthropogenic structures that are prevalent in urban areas such as streetlights, LED signs (from hotels), and billboards are extremely bright, and lead many loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings to their death. Artificial lighting reduces the nesting and hatching survival rates of the loggerhead sea turtle population, which indubitably aids in their being endangered. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Moving on from anthropogenic structures, many human activities and practices (which we’ll call anthropogenic activities) contribute to the endangerment of loggerhead sea turtles. A perfect example is simply beach use. Either straight up trampling of nests or sand compaction over the nests leads to the crushing or suffocation of loggerhead sea turtle nannies. Additionally, in order to avoid interactions with predatory creatures (humans), adult female loggerhead sea turtles will often spend less time working on the protection mechanisms they employ to ensure their eggs stay safe. This makes the nests more vulnerable to non-human predators. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Incorporated within beach use is driving on the beach. Both normal vehicles and dune buggies contribute to this anthropogenic activity. The wheels can often crush the nests, killing all the babies or impeding on the hatching space, putting the turtles at a greater risk of death from predation, fatigue, desiccation, and being crushed by vehicles. Vehicle lights can also disorient the babies, so they begin to move inland instead of the sea. The same vehicle lights can also deter females from nesting. This anthropogenic activity leads to less nests and a lower birth rate as well as a lower success rate. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Moving back to anthropogenic processes, climate change based human error negatively affects the loggerhead sea turtle population. Beach debris can throw female turtles off, which can influence their selection of nesting sights and can even entrap and kill them. This could lead to the hatchlings being nested further from the sea, making it much harder for them to reach safety post-birth. Additionally, beach debris, which is most often plastic(s), can obstruct the path to the sea for hatchlings, making it even harder for them to reach safety. Overall, debris entangles both the mother and the babies, obstructs the babies path, and leads to the babies being nested further from the ocean. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

The next component of our first factor of loggerhead sea turtle endangerment is marine pollution and general anthropogenic waste. Loggerheads can become entangled and die in discarded fishing gear. They are more prone to eating anthropogenic debris like plastic bags due to the jellyfish-like appearance of many plastics and the odor of biofouled plastics attracting them. While we know these plastics pose a huge threat to the loggerhead sea turtle community, empirical data on just how dangerous they are is fairly limited due to the unquantifiability of the effects of anthropogenic waste on a general population level. It was even found that 4 out of 5 loggerhead sea turtles captured in longline fisheries between 2012 and 2016 had ingested plastic. Plastics are put into the ocean through human error but also natural erosion through natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding thrusts plastics from the mainland into the ocean, which kills many loggerheads. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

When anthropogenic waste such as herbicides, pesticides, oil spills, etc. is introduced into loggerhead sea turtle environments, including foraging habitats, convergence zones, etc.m the effects are lethal and even non-lethal effects greatly increase the probability of mortality. The transferring of metals through trophic levels leads to sea turtles in the eastern Pacific having extremely high concentrations of metals in their body due to bioaccumulation. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Another form of anthropogenic waste is oil spills. Since turtles do not have avoidance behaviour or large pre-dive inhalations, they’ll tend to find themselves having to surface for air frequently and in the middle of oil spill zones. When they try to get air, they’ll often end up digesting the oils which leads to the harrowing statistic that tar balls are the second most prevalent type of debris ingested by all sea turtles, including the loggerhead. This leads to all kinds of internal physical issues for the turtles and often leads to death. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

The second factor which has led to loggerhead sea turtles being endangered is the overutilization of turtles for commercial/recreational/scientific/educational purposes. Both individual humans and larger entities like corporations, labs, schools, etc. are responsible for contributing to this issue. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Turtle eggs have historically been a large part of the seafood industry in East and South Asian countries and even nowadays they’re served in restaurants around the globe. Given that turtle eggs are so easy to find and steal as they are usually laid on open beaches, poaching is still a huge issue. A good example of the prevalence of poaching is Mexico. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

In Mexico, loggerhead meat, eggs, and shells have historically been harvested for food, alternative medicinal uses, and even house decorations. As a result, in 1990 the Mexican government banned any and all harvest of sea turtles as per presidential decree. However, despite the ban and the negative legal repercussions of breaking the law, poaching became very prevalent. About 1,000 loggerheads are killed each year due to the poaching industry, and that’s in Mexico alone. North, Central, and South America as well as South and East Asia and some parts of Africa are notorious for their poaching of loggerhead sea turtles. The turtle carcasses are often left on beaches or in garbage dumps. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

In order to attempt to combat poaching and the few negative effects of the criminalization of turtle harvesting, many service groups relocate turtle nests to safe facilities. Additionally, some organizations relocate them as a means to provide educational experiences for students. This movement kills turtle embryos often by disrupting delicate membranes inside the egg(s). Also, by changing its incubation temperature, gas exchange parameters, and hydric environment of the nest, there are significantly higher levels of mortality, morbidity, and reductions in the behavioural competence of hatchlings. The change in incubation temperature also leads to skewed sex ratios and reduced viability, making it harder for hatchlings to survive but also to repopulate their endangered species. Nests that are left untouched have a significantly higher hatchling emergence rate than relocated nests, suggesting that the change in incubation demoralizes the hatchling or simply cripples and kills it. When these holding periods are prolonged, it negatively impacts conservation and recovery efforts because it forces a practice that is inconsistent with sea turtle reproductive biology. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

The third factor that has led to the loggerhead sea turtle being listed as endangered is the existence of diseases as well as natural predators. While this is a factor largely separate from problems humans have created, it still leads to high mortality rates of nests and adult turtles. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

There are at least two bacterial diseases amongst the wild loggerhead population. Ther first is bacterial encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, and the second is ulcerative stomatitis, painful ulcers over the mouth and/or esophagus. Parasites including trematodes, tapeworms, and nematodes have been found in loggerheads. Heavy infestations of these parasites can contribute to debilitation or morality in turtles. Additionally, algae blooms cause significant damage to the loggerhead population. This is more of an issue with human error but it’s a “natural” cause of loggerhead death. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Regional predators are extremely prevalent in the destruction of nests and deliver damaging blows to the loggerhead population. Statistics from Japanese beaches make this painfully clear. Regional predators like those in Japan e.g. raccoon dogs, weasels, Japanese foxes, wild boars, and some snakes forage nesting areas for food, killing dozens of loggerhead embryos at a time. This leads to the death of thousands of loggerhead sea turtles per season, in Japan only. Outside of Japan, other coastal cities have their own regional predators that make life hell for loggerhead embryos. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

The fourth factor that threatens loggerheads is the failure of previous policies to address the issues that impact their population. These include CITES, MEPP, and WPHM. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) This Convention was designed to regulate international trade in a wide range of wild animals and plants. CITES was implemented in 1975 and currently includes 183 Parties. Although CITES has been effective at minimizing the international trade of sea turtle products, it does not limit legal harvest within countries, nor does it regulate intra-country commerce of sea turtle products (Hykle 2002). CITES is currently carrying out a review of illegal trade of sea turtles in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Ministry of Environment and Prefectural Protections, Japan — In 1988, the Kagoshima Prefecture enacted the Nature Protection Ordinance, which prohibited egg collection on Yakushima and was extended throughout the entire Kagoshima Prefecture (Ohmuta 2006). Loggerhead nesting populations are now regulated and managed at the local level (i.e., government prefectures, municipalities, and national parks; Matsuzawa and Kamezaki 2012). Legal collection of loggerheads caught in the water is allowed if the prefectural government or Ministry of Environment issues a permit.

The Wildlife Protection and Hunting Management Law, Japan — This law protects wildlife protection areas if deemed necessary. National Wildlife Protection Areas are designated by the Minister of the Environment, and prefectural Wildlife Protection Areas are designated by the governor of the prefecture. Construction adjacent to nesting beaches is regulated by Ministry of Environment in Special Protection Zone and Special Zone of Natural Parks.

These acts and policies do some good for sea turtle populations but not enough as by not adequately limiting legal harvest or domestic commerce or still allowing sea turtle harvest (even through means of a permit), they end up allowing far too much excess damage. This is not to say that all policies implemented have been unsuccessful. Let’s take a look at more successful policies. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

FAO Guidelines to Reduce Sea Turtle Mortality in Fishing Operations- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations provided technical guidelines to reduce sea turtle mortality in marine fisheries. These recommendations were endorsed by the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), which called for the immediate implementation by member nations and Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs). These RFMO measures are now required of cooperating and non-party members.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)- To date, 157 countries, including most mainland countries in the western Pacific, have joined the Convention. The United States has signed the treaty. While the Senate has not ratified the treaty, the United States abides by all but the deep seabed mining provisions. Aside from its provisions defining ocean boundaries, the convention establishes general obligations for safeguarding the marine environment through mandating sustainable fishing practices and protecting freedom of scientific research on the high seas.

These policies set a standard for what a successful policy looks like. Backed by, arguably, the largest geopolitical power in the world, the UN, these policies do well not only in writing but also in their implementation. (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

The fifth factor, and also the most damaging to the loggerhead sea turtle species is fishery bycatch. “Bycatch occurs in pelagic and coastal waters throughout the range of the North Pacific Ocean DPS (Casale and Matsuzawa 2015). Bycatch of North Pacific loggerheads occurs in numerous types of commercial and artisanal fishing gear , including: pelagic and demersal longlines; drift and set nets (e.g., gillnets, trammel nets); bottom and mid-water trawling; fishing dredges; pound nets and weirs; haul and purse seines; pots and traps; and hook and line gear. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is undocumented and thus difficult to quantify; however, it is likely the single greatest source of loggerhead bycatch. While some fisheries have significantly reduced their bycatch of North Pacific loggerheads, bycatch continues to be the single greatest present threat to the DPS, reducing overall abundance (i.e., loss of individuals) and productivity (i.e., loss of reproductive potential) … The following coastal fisheries have the greatest negative impact on the DPS: Japan pound net fishery; small-scale fisheries of Baja California, Mexico; and IUU fishing in the East China Sea. Neritic foraging juveniles and adults are especially vulnerable to fisheries bycatch, and these fisheries kill a significant number of foraging loggerheads (Kamezaki et al. 2003; Peckham et al. 2007b) … Although unquantified, IUU fisheries likely pose the greatest threat to the DPS because they are not required to use any mitigation measures that would reduce or prevent bycatch or limit mortality. Gillnet and longline fisheries, especially those in Mexico and Japan, are also among the greatest threats to the DPS. Total annual mortalities are likely in the thousands.” (National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.”)

Loggerhead sea turtles are named for their large heads, which contain powerful jaws and a thick beak. An adult loggerhead’s top shell is slightly heart-shaped with a reddish-brown color; the bottom shell is pale yellow. These turtles have extremely efficient, short flippers. Adults weigh approximately 250 pounds with shells measuring three feet long. Loggerhead sea turtles inhabit three distinct ecosystems during their lifetimes. They are born on land and spend their time as post-hatchlings lingering in areas near the nesting beach. Eventually, post-hatchlings are transported by ocean currents farther offshore into deeper waters where they spend the next seven to 12 years, after which they return to coastal areas and continue maturing until adulthood. Loggerhead sea turtles occur throughout the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. In the Atlantic Ocean, they range from Newfoundland to Argentina. Loggerhead sea turtles in the North Pacific nest in Japan but cross the Pacific Ocean to feed off the coast of North America near Baja, Mexico. In the North Pacific, turtles are born in Japan, cross the entire basin, and spend their adolescence off the coast of Baja and southern California. They return to Japan at age 20 or so to nest, with annual travels around the Pacific thereafter. In the North Atlantic, Florida nesters wander up the East Coast each year, returning to nest in the summer. Other populations breed in the Mediterranean, South Pacific, and Indian oceans, and migrate extensively across these oceans. Loggerhead sea turtles reach sexual maturity around age 30, and they mate at sea. Females return to their own nesting beaches to lay several clutches of eggs between May and August, burying the eggs in coarse sand above the intertidal zone. Depending on temperatures, eggs incubate for 45 to 95 days. Hatchlings emerge at night and immediately begin a period of frenzied activity to avoid waiting predators, racing from nest to surf. A loggerhead’s lifespan is estimated to be up to 100 years. Loggerhead sea turtles feed on sponges, jellyfishes, sargassum weed, small gastropods, clams, horseshoe crabs, and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Coral reefs and shipwrecks can be popular feeding areas. Pacific populations of loggerhead sea turtles have declined by more than 80 percent in the last 25 years, with fewer than 1,000 females returning to their natal beaches to nest each year. Atlantic and Indian Ocean populations are also declining. The current total estimate of loggerhead sea turtles is around 50,000, whereas the species once numbered several million throughout the world’s oceans. (“Loggerhead History.” Natural History)

A look at this population graph shows just how badly loggerheads have been impacted by the factors that lead to their endangerment. Even in a developed state with a lot of conservatory efforts and policies active, there’s been a huge drop in the loggerhead nesting population. It’s only gotten worse since 2006. (“Assessment of Sea Turtle Status and Trends Integrating Demography and Abundance.” The National Academy of Sciences, 2010)

In the short term (1 year) the options for policy implementation are fairly limited. To combat the anthropogenic waste that strangles turtles, local governments can impose greater punishments for littering such as greater fines or jail time of some sort. For relatively minor cases, courts typically impose a fine and may order litter cleanup or community service. Fines range from $25 in Massachusetts to $30,000 in Maryland. In more serious cases, offenders may be subject to imprisonment, with sentences ranging from 10 days in Idaho to six years in Tennessee. Laws in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Louisiana also provide for suspension of a violators’ driver’s license in certain cases. Penalties in all states typically increase for subsequent convictions. There should be an imposition of stricter fining penalties amongst the US, on par with those of Maryland. Littering should be an act punishable by a large fine, imprisonment, and suspension of a driver’s license. By doing this, the general population will be de-incentivized to participate in anthropogenic activities such as littering and loggerhead sea turtles will die due to plastic consumption much less often. (Jennifer Schultz, Melanie Horton. States with Littering Penalties)

Additionally, banning the use of any and all LED lights by both individuals and other entities (corporations, hotel lines, etc.) so as to not confuse loggerhead hatchlings. While they’ll still be prone to head inland after seeing non-LED lights, the most pragmatic short term option is to issue a ban of LED lights on or around beaches in any and all coastal cities. If caught breaking this rule, the punishments should be severe. Also, imposing stricter punishments for both the harvesting of turtles and any domestic transactions involving harvested turtles. You may have noticed that I have not proposed substantial policies but rather reformations to already existing policies. This way we ensure that the changes we are making occur quickly rather than having to deal with policy lag in a bipartisan congress.

In a 5 year time period, policy lag is not an issue but there is still a hindrance that must be taken into account. Public pushback by the more conservative and libertarian populations would ensure that it would be a hard-fought battle to pass extreme climate-aware policy. That said, I would propose a full-scale ban on the usage of turtles as educational animals, a practice that is very prevalent in East Asia and some parts of South America, as well as a halt on the construction of any and all beach armoring including but not limited to sea walls, concrete walkways, detachments, and jetties. This would be a very controversial move especially in coastal cities reliant on beach armoring to combat the negative effects of climate change. This would keep loggerhead sea turtles from facing the negative effects of disorienting adult female loggerheads and shifting hatching grounds. We would see a greater rate of hatchling emergence and more efficiently placed nests. Additionally, in order to prevent climate-change based anthropogenic activities on the part of corporations who are both the largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions and algae blooms in bays, we could implement Janet Yellen’s Carbon Tax Plan and required transparency on the part of corporations as well as improved whistleblower security laws and incentivizations.

By ensuring that whistleblowers will receive protections from any malevolent corporate entities they might be happening to expose, the government encourages corporate workers who mean well to come out about unethical practices their employers engage in that contribute to algae-blooms. By ensuring that companies and corporations have to be more transparent in their practices and actions, they’ll be subject to the court of public opinion. If consumers are aware that a certain producer is doing unethical things like allowing runoff to spill into their bay, the chances are that the corporation in question will discontinue the unethical practice so as to keep their consumers and the profit they bring them. Lastly, an implementation of Janet Yellen’s Carbon Tax Plan would ensure that corporations think twice before contributing to climate change and global warming; factors of natural erosion (they exacerbate the amount of hurricanes and flooding we have). Yellen is a founding member of the Climate Leadership Council, an international policy institute with a stated mission to tax carbon as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The group is backed by energy companies including BP, ExxonMobil, and Shell. The group, and Yellen, devised a Carbon Tax Plan which would cap the tons of carbon dioxide corporations are allowed to emit into the atmosphere at a certain number, and any tons produced past that point will be at a fee. Companies will begin having to pay a substantial tax on each ton produced, possibly costing them millions of dollars. I would slightly reform it by making this money that is paid to the government be circulated back into the economy by subsidizing a short term UBI for any fossil fuel industry workers laid off due to there being a lower rate of production in the sector they work in. That way, corporations would be subsidizing the living of their workers as they downsize and eventually fade out of existence so we can move into a clean energy economy. This plan is not only environmentally conscious but economically efficient, considerably more so than other environmental policies such as the Green New Deal. An implementation of Yellen’s Carbon Tax Plan coupled with required transparency, more efficient whistleblower safety laws, a halt on beach armor construction, and a ban on turtles as educational animals would lead to a substantial amount of good for the loggerhead sea turtle population, especially in a fairly short time period (5 years). (Shendruk, Amanda. “Janet Yellen Supports a Carbon Tax, but What Exactly Does That Mean?”)

Long term recovery goals are a bit more tricky to structure because of the amount of policy analysis they take. That said, I would advocate for weaning off and eventually banning the relocation of turtle nests to “safe” hatching areas as well as implementing the Second Revision of the “Recovery Plan for the … Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta)”. These two actions, coupled with the policies described in the one year plan and five year plan should be enough to save the loggerhead sea turtle population from extinction and to revoke their status of ‘endangered species’. Now, I understand that it sounds a bit preposterous to advocate for a ban on any and all nest relocation, including for “safety” purposes. But, if our 1 year plan and 5 year plan are implemented properly, there should be an abundance of turtle nests, continually growing at a fast rate, until there’s simply no need to relocate any of them. As we wait for the positive effects of our 1 and 5 year policy plans to come into the frame, we can start to impose slight restrictions on relocation, and when the effects of our policies are truly showing themselves, issue an outright ban of turtle relocation. This would save turtle embryos from feeling the negative effects of environmental change while still not hatched. To quote myself, “This movement”, in reference to relocation, “kills turtle embryos often by disrupting delicate membranes inside the egg(s). Also, by changing its incubation temperature, gas exchange parameters, and hydric environment of the nest, there are significantly higher levels of mortality, morbidity, and reductions in the behavioural competence of hatchlings. The change in incubation temperature also leads to skewed sex ratios and reduced viability, making it harder for hatchlings to survive but also to repopulate their endangered species. Nests that are left untouched have a significantly higher hatchling emergence rate than relocated nests, suggesting that the change in incubation demoralizes the hatchling or simply cripples and kills it. When these holding periods are prolonged, it negatively impacts conservation and recovery efforts because it forces a practice that is inconsistent with sea turtle reproductive biology.” After issuing a ban on relocation for safety in our long term plan and a ban on relocation for safety in our short(er) term plan, we’ll have effectively halted any and all wholly unnecessary relocation of loggerhead nests and embryos, which is the goal. As for the Recovery Plan, it would begin operation in the North Atlantic because before branching it out to the entire species of loggerhead, it needs to meet both the recovery criteria for each recovery unit and have completed a formal DPS evaluation and designation, which would involve a proposed rulemaking, public review and comment, and a final rulemaking. Onto the content of the plan, there are over 200 actions detailed within the plan, but here are some of the most vital ones: 218. Re-establish natural dune structure and native vegetation during sand placement projects, 27. Inventory and protect neritic habitats used by loggerheads, 44. Evaluate the effects of harmful algal blooms on loggerhead health, 45. Investigate the lethal and sublethal role of contaminants, and 625. Minimize loggerhead bycatch in domestic commercial and recreational pot/trap fisheries. I’d like to focus on #625 and its subsections, which are aimed at minimizing the amount of loggerheads lost to bycatch annually. The rest of the subsections of section 625 are as follows: 6251. Describe and characterize pot/trap fisheries. 6252. Integrate information gathered in 6251 with turtle distribution data (linked to actions 141 and 29). 6253. Develop gear modifications to prevent entanglement of loggerheads in pot/trap lines. 6254. Promulgate regulations to incorporate modifications to whelk pot bridles to prevent loggerhead entanglement. 6255. Promulgate appropriate regulations to reduce incidental capture of loggerheads in pots/traps. 6256. Require identification on pot/trap gear. The recovery plan is aimed at combating multiple different reasons for loggerheads being endangered, but is arguably the single most comprehensive plan to counteract fishery bycatch, which we know is the single most detrimental process to the loggerhead population. After implementing the Recovery Plan and banning all forms of relocation of nests, the loggerhead population will be allowed to naturally proliferate again. (“Recovery Plan for the Northwest Atlantic Population of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) .”)

The 5 reasons for loggerhead sea turtles holding an ‘endangered species’ status are anthropogenic processes, overutilization of loggerheads both commercially and educationally, diseases and predation, the inadequacy of existing regulatory policies, and fishery bycatch. The policies we can implement to stop these factors contributing to loggerhead sea turtle endangerment are increasing the penalties for littering (especially for littering on a beach), issue a ban on the use of LED lights on or around beaches, issue a ban on the use of loggerhead sea turtles as educational animals in schools and other facilities, issue a halt on the construction of all beach armoring, implement Janet Yellen’s carbon tax plan, implement more efficient whistleblower safety and anonymity laws, mandate corporate transparency, implement the Second Revision of the “Recovery Plan for the … Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta), and issue a ban on any and all relocation of loggerhead nests, including relocation under the guise of “safety”. If we implement these 9 policies, in the order they were written, then 4 of the 5 reasons for loggerhead endangerment should be eradicated. Only disease and predation would pose an existential threat to the loggerhead population, but that’s a non-human affected natural process and in turn we have no control over it.

Sources:

Fisheries, NOAA. “Loggerhead Turtle.” NOAA, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/loggerhead-turtle#:~:text=Increasing%20pollution%20of%20nearshore%20and,they%20can%20mistake%20for%20food.

“Endangered Species Act.” Official Web Page of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/international/laws-treaties-agreements/us-conservation-laws/endangered-species-act.html.

National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland. “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) North Pacific Ocean DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.” 5-Year Review of North Pacific Loggerhead, 6 Apr. 2020, media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/np_loggerhead_5yr_review_final.pdf.

“Loggerhead History.” Natural History, www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/reptiles/loggerhead_sea_turtle/natural_history.html#:~:text=DESCRIPTION%3A%20Loggerhead%20sea%20turtles%20are,jaws%20and%20a%20thick%20beak.&text=Loggerhead%20sea%20turtles%20in%20the,North%20America%20near%20Baja%2C%20Mexico.

“Assessment of Sea Turtle Status and Trends Integrating Demography and Abundance.” The National Academy of Sciences, 2010, www.nap.edu/resource/12889/Sea-Turtles-Report-Brief-Final.pdf.

Jennifer Schultz, Melanie Horton. States with Littering Penalties, www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/states-with-littering-penalties.aspx.

Shendruk, Amanda. “Janet Yellen Supports a Carbon Tax, but What Exactly Does That Mean?” Quartz, Quartz, qz.com/1937992/janet-yellen-supports-a-carbon-tax-but-what-does-that-mean/.

“Recovery Plan for the Northwest Atlantic Population of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) .” U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/2008_Recovery_Plan/20081231_Final%20NW%20Loggerhead%20Recovery%20Plan_signed.pdf.