Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting in Barbados (Needham's Point, 13° 04Ј 41.33ЈЈ N, 59° 36Ј 32.69ЈЈW) were outWtted with GPS dataloggers over three breeding seasons (2008)(2009)(2010) to track movement during inter-nesting intervals. Most females established spatially restricted resident areas up current and within 7 km of the nesting beach where they spent the majority of the inter-nesting interval. Females nesting earlier in the season settled on shallower sites. Only experienced remigrant turtles occupied the most distant resident areas. Females tracked for multiple inter-nesting intervals exhibited site Wdelity, but the area contracted and the activity of females decreased with each successive interval. Hawksbills may trade oV site characteristics with distance from the nesting beach and reduce activity over the course of the breeding season to optimise energy reserves during inter-nesting intervals.

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The types of marine benthic habitats utilised by hawksbill sea turtles Eretmochelys imbricata nesting at Needham's Point, Barbados, were investigated using an underwater drop camera. Habitats used preferentially (i.e. those within high-use areas) tended to be high relief and densely covered with biota, characterised by high abundance of hard corals and shallower than less frequented areas. These structurally complex habitats offered opportunities for rest and refuge, but not for foraging, with females showing no preference for sites with high sponge abundance. Females appeared to trade off site quality (i.e. based on benthic relief, cover and species composition) against the energy expended to get there, travelling long distances (up to 21.2 km) to higher-quality sites.

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Overlap of small-scale fisheries with sea turtle high-use areas is of growing concern, but the extent to which these endangered species interact with fishing gear is rarely known. Structured face-to-face interviews with 22 longline vessel captains were used to make a rapid assessment of sea turtle bycatch by the artisanal longline fleet of Barbados in the eastern Caribbean. Extrapolated estimates suggested that an average of 284 sea turtles yr −1 were caught on 1 896 200 hooks, a bycatch per unit effort of 0.15. Based on extrapolation of the percentage of the observed vessels to the entire fleet, an estimated average of 374 sea turtles yr −1 are caught. The majority of captains (86%) reported leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea to be the predominant species. The Barbados longline fleet operates in sea areas through which le atherbacks pass on their way to and from important nesting beaches in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and the Guianas, and in which they reside during the pre-nesting period as well as throughout the nesting season. Although most sea turtles caught as bycatch were released alive, they often remained hooked with trailing lines. The majority of captains expressed their willingness to be trained in safe-handling and release of hooked and entangled turtles, to increase the probability of their survival.