S. Hoyt Peckham, Wallace J. Nichols, Peter H. Dutton, Victor de la Toba, Edgar Caballero-Aspe, and Oscar Salazar-Oropeza. 2007. Reducing bycatch of loggerhead turtles in coastal fisheries of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. In: Mast, R.B., Hutchinson, B.J., and A.H. Hutchinson, compilers. 2007. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-567, 205 p.
There is great concern over the continued decline of Pacific loggerhead turtles. In the North Pacific, the waters around Baja California are important feeding and developmental areas for the North Pacific stock of loggerhead turtles, which nest almost exclusively in Japan. Bycatch in various high seas and coastal fisheries of many countries are known to impact loggerhead turtles throughout their range, but the extent of mortality on the feeding grounds off Baja remains unknown. We present results of systematic surveys conducted from 2002-2003, which show that bycatch mortality of loggerhead turtles along the BCP is alarmingly high and is a significant impediment to recovery of this species in the Pacific. We discuss habitat use and foraging ecology based on our diet studies and satellite telemetry, and we show that we have integrated our findings with community-based conservation initiatives to raise awareness and develop methods to reduce bycatch in partnership with fisherman and their communities.
