LOGGERHEAD TURTLE 



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Common Name: LOGGERHEAD TURTLE 

 Scientific Name: Carelta caretta 



Listing Date: 06/02/70 



Species Status: Threatened 



Species Trend: Decreasing 



Current Estimated Population: 20,000-28.000 nesting females in the southeastern U.S. 



SPECIES POPULATION STATUS 



The loggerhead turtle was listed as threatened throughout its range on July 28, 1978. and its 

 status has not changed. The species is considered Endangered by the lUCN (the World 

 Conservation Union) and is listed in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in 

 Endangered Flora and Fauna). Recently, four loggerhead nesting subpopulations separated 

 genetically have been identified in the western North Atlantic: the northern nesting 

 subpopulation, occurring from North Carolina to northeast Florida; the south Florida nesting 

 subpopulation, occurring from the central Atlantic coast of Florida at 29 degrees north latitude 

 south and around the peninsula to Naples; the Florida panhandle nesting subpopulation, 

 occurring at Eglin Air Force Base and the beaches near Panama City; and the Yucatan nesting 

 subpopulation, occurring on the northern and eastern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. 



Recent trends in abundance can be assessed only for adults of the northern and south Florida 

 subpopulations. Nesting surveys in the Florida panhandle and Yucatan Peninsula have been too 

 irregular to allow a meaningful analysis of trends. The northern subpopulation has declined 

 substantially in the last 23 years, but may have stabilized in recent years. The south Florida 

 subpopulation has shown significant increases over the last 25 years; however, the numbers of 

 immatures in the same area have not increased. If these data are indicative of loggerhead 

 abundance elsewhere, limited recruitment to adulthood can be expected to slow the recovery of 

 the south Florida subpopulation measured at the nesting beach. 



The incidence of raccoon depredation of nests in Brevard County, Florida, which supports the 

 highest density of loggerheads nests of any U.S. beach, almost tripled between 1985 and 1988, 

 indicating that although numbers of nests may be remaining fairly stable, the numbers of 

 hatchlings emerging from those nests may be declining. Nesting data collected on index nesting 

 beaches between 1989 and 1995 represent the best data set available to estimate the population 

 size of adult female loggerhead turtles. Based on these data the adult female population nesting 

 along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts is estimated to be 43,060 turtles. 



The loggerheads reported from the insular Pacific, including states and territories under U.S. 

 jurisdiction, probably derive largely from populations genetically affiliated with nesting beaches 

 in Japan, Indonesia, or eastern Australia. These stocks are threatened mostly by incidental catch 



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