In the Atlantic Ocean, the olive ridley occurs widely, but probably not in great abundance, in 

 waters of West Africa, from about Mauritania southward at least to the Congo. In the western 

 Atlantic, nesting occurs in eastern Surinam, as well as in western French Guiana and 

 northwestern Guyana. Non-nesting individuals occur regularly as far west as Isla Margarita and 

 Trinidad, but they rarely penetrate any further into the Caribbean. The olive ridley has never 

 been reported in Florida. The species also occurs in Brazil, and nests in the states of Bahia and 

 Sergipe, but it seems to be rare. 



MAJOR IMPACTS 



Incidental capture in shrimp trawls is thought to be the primary cause of the progressive 

 depletion of the olive ridley. In addition, long-line and gillnet fisheries take significant numbers 

 of olive ridleys each year. 



Olive ridley turtles eat a wide variety of marine debris such as plastic bags, plastic and 

 Styrofoam pieces, tar balls, balloons and raw plastic pellets. Effects of consumption can be fatal 

 and include interference in metabolism or gut function, even at low levels of ingestion, as well as 

 absorption of toxic byproducts. 



Marine turtles are at risk when encountering an oil spill. Respiration, skin, blood chemistry and 

 salt gland function may be affected. Pesticides, heavy metals and PCB's have been detected in 

 turtles and eggs, but the effect is unknown. 



In areas where recreational boating and ship traffic is intense, propeller and collision injuries are 

 common. 



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