A small fishery with a high impact on sea turtle populations in the eastern Mediterranean

Levy, Yaniv; Frid, Ori; Weinberger, Adi; Sade, Rotem; Adam, Yoav; Kandanyan, Uria; Berkun, Victoria; Perry, Noga; Edelist, Dor; Goren, Menachem; Rothman, Shevy Bat-Sheva; Stern, Nir; Tchernov, Dan; Rilov, Gil

doi:10.1080/09397140.2015.1101906

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Both the outcomes from the interviews and the ZINB model (based on on-board observations) showed an increasing gradient in the bycatch rates from south to north and approaching the River Po delta, reinforcing the reliability of the interviews in estimating the total catches during the year, as obtained by Lozano et al (2011) andLevy et al (2015).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…Lazar, Ziza, and Tvrtkovic () estimated an annual catch of 657–4038 turtles on the east side of the Adriatic Sea, with a mean annual catch of around 2.8 turtles per vessel. Levy et al () estimated an annual catch of 1672 turtles for the Israeli gillnet fleet. In the current study the estimated annual catch per vessel ranged from 1.80 (southern region) to 5.30 (region close to the Po River delta).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sea turtles bycatch in the Adriatic Sea set net fisheries and possible hot‐spot identification

Lucchetti

Vasapollo

Virgili

2017

Aquatic Conservation

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Bycatch resulting from fishing activities is the main threat for the conservation of sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea. Fixed nets are a matter of concern for sea turtles mainly in coastal areas during the neritic stage when both juvenile and adult life stages are affected. Mortality caused by entanglement in set nets is related to forced apnoea due to the high soak time of the nets and consequent drowning. This study investigated the loggerhead turtle bycatch in set net coastal fisheries in the northern Adriatic Sea (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean Geographical Sub‐Area 17, [GSA 17]) through an interview‐based approach, to understand the potential contribution of these fisheries to the general decline of the sea turtle population. A second goal was to identify a possible hot‐spot turtle bycatch area through on‐board observations. The study estimates that more than 5400 turtles are caught in the west GSA 17 each year with the largest number in the summer. A hot‐spot for entanglement was also identified in an area located south of the River Po delta (41.5–69 m depth) during the summer. Sixty‐four turtles were caught over a period of 30 fishing days by either trammel nets and gillnets (0.7 and 0.5 turtle per km of net respectively) and was the greatest number that has been observed anywhere in the Mediterranean. Possible management strategies to reduce bycatch include technical modification to gear setting (such as reducing netting slack and using small meshes), bycatch reducer devices (such as LED UV), and area and seasonal gear restrictions to small‐scale fisheries in areas of greatest concern in the northern Adriatic Sea.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sea turtles bycatch in the Adriatic Sea set net fisheries and possible hot‐spot identification

Lucchetti

Vasapollo

Virgili

2017

Aquatic Conservation

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“…While this is a small number viewed by a single fisherman, it implies a very large level of bycatch for the entire country. Other studies in the Mediterranean indicate that small-scale fisheries have a great impact on sea turtle populations in Spain (Carreras et al, 2004;Quevedo et al, 2010), Cyprus, Turkey (Godley et al, 1998;Snape et al, 2013), and Israel (Levy et al, 2015). Similar results are reported for Peru and Baja California, Mexico (Peckham et al, 2007;Alfaro-Shigueto et al, 2011).…”

Section: The Dynamic Relationship Between Sea Turtles and Small-scalesupporting

confidence: 78%

Caught in the Same Net? Small-Scale Fishermen's Perceptions of Fisheries Interactions with Sea Turtles and Other Protected Species

et al. 2017

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Small-scale fisheries are responsible for high numbers of animals caught as bycatch, such as turtles, cetaceans, and seals. Bycatch and its associated mortality is a major conservation challenge for these species and is considered undesirable by fishermen. To gain insights on the impact of bycatch on small-scale fishermen and put it in context with other financial and environmental challenges they face, we conducted questionnaire-based interviews on fishermen working on Crete, Greece. We investigated fishermen's perceptions of sea turtle and other protected species interactions, and the impacts of such interactions on their profession and livelihoods. Our results indicate a connection between declining fish stocks, related increased fishing effort, and reported increased frequency of interactions between fishermen and sea turtles. Respondents believed that their livelihoods were endangered by industrial fishing and environmental problems, but thought that combined interactions with turtles and other marine megafauna species were a larger problem. Responses suggested that extending compensation to fishermen may be a good conservation intervention. Small-scale fishermen hold a wealth of knowledge about the marine environment and its resources. This may be of help to researchers and policy makers as it could be used to achieve a better managed, sustainable fishery. Including small-scale fishermen in the process of developing regulations will both enhance those regulations and increase compliance with them.

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“…This is not unprecedented, as the Learned Migration Goal Theory predicts that adults tend to use the same foraging areas that they used as juveniles (Hays, Fossette, Katselidis, Mariani, & Schofield, ), and for this reason our results can be applied to the range of sizes found in this foraging area (Figure ). Thus, most of the individuals that travelled along the Israeli coast and stranded there came from other distant populations, as expected simply by the small census size of the Israeli nesting population compared with the number of stranded animals (Levy, ; Levy et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Several episodes of green turtle local mortality have been reported in the Mediterranean, for which the origin of the affected individuals has not yet been resolved. For instance, thousands of green and loggerhead turtles were harvested during the Second World War along the eastern Mediterranean coasts (Levy, ; Levy et al, ; Sella, ). This episode contributed to the general decline of the Mediterranean populations, although the precise distribution of this impact on source populations is yet unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitochondrial DNA short tandem repeats unveil hidden population structuring and migration routes of an endangered marine turtle

Tikochinski

Bradshaw

Mastrogiacomo³

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

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The assessment of the composition and dynamics of endangered populations is crucial for management and conservation, and appropriate genetic markers are critical. The genetic structuring of the Mediterranean green turtle (Chelonia mydas) populations and the origin of the stranded animals found along the Israeli coast was investigated using new highly polymorphic short tandem repeat (STR) markers. The structuring of nesting populations was studied using pairwise genetic distances and a principal coordinates analysis (PCoA). The contribution of the different nesting populations to the stranded sample was assessed by using a mixed‐stock analysis. A clear population genetic structure, not detected before, has been revealed. The four nesting populations are genetically well differentiated, and thus should be considered as different management units. The populations from Turkey and Israel showed higher resemblance, despite residing at opposite ends of the Mediterranean distribution. The Turkish nesting population is the main source of the stranded turtles sampled along the Israeli shore, confirming that individuals from this population migrate from north to south along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, as previously shown by telemetry studies. The use of a highly polymorphic haplotyping method enabled the detection of a clear genetic structuring of the green turtle populations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that was not revealed in previous studies, demonstrating the importance of marker selection in population genetics. The analysis of the genetic composition of the stranded turtles allowed us to investigate the migration patterns from nesting to foraging areas, supporting previous satellite‐tracking and stable‐isotope results. These results will help to delineate conservation management units for the species in the Mediterranean, and reveal connectivity among beaches and mixed aggregations.

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A small fishery with a high impact on sea turtle populations in the eastern Mediterranean

Cited by 16 publications

References 38 publications

Sea turtles bycatch in the Adriatic Sea set net fisheries and possible hot‐spot identification

Sea turtles bycatch in the Adriatic Sea set net fisheries and possible hot‐spot identification

Caught in the Same Net? Small-Scale Fishermen's Perceptions of Fisheries Interactions with Sea Turtles and Other Protected Species

Mitochondrial DNA short tandem repeats unveil hidden population structuring and migration routes of an endangered marine turtle

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