24-31 females were estimated to nest there. Clearly, loggerhead 

 nesting is in great decline on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. 



Although consideration of the status of loggerheads in the 

 San Andres Archipelago was not included in the WATS I National 

 Report, the work of Carr et al. (1982), who devoted considerable 

 attention to it is very relevant . That work is readily 

 available so I need not review it extensively. It is worth 

 noting, however, that on San Andres, where loggerheads once 

 nested regularly, nesting is now only "desultory and sporadic." 

 Even so, any turtle found nesting there is always killed, and the 

 eggs always taken. Carr et al. (1982) concluded that, "As 

 nesting territory, San Andres is finished." Similarly, while 

 some loggerhead nesting still occurs on Isla Providencia, the 

 Albuquerque Cays (Bacon 1981) and the Courtown Cays (or East 

 Southeast Cays) , evidence indicates that the level of activity 

 has declined markedly since about 1970. Some nesting occurs at 

 the very small Roncador Cay, and some indication exists of 

 greater nesting activity at the most remote atoll, Serrana Bank, 

 although this remains to be quantified. Further information 

 clarifying the status of loggerheads on the mainland coast of 

 Colombia and in the San Andres Archipelago is needed. 



I have also encountered some difficulty in assessing the 

 status of nesting aggregations of loggerheads in Mexico. Bacon 



(1981) regarded the loggerhead as a common nester, primarily I 

 believe, on the basis of nesting activity on the Caribbean coast, 

 especially the beaches of the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula, in 

 Quintana Roo, where Marquez (1976b) estimated 500 nesting 

 females. Sternberg (1981) regarded this region (northern 

 Quintana Roo) as the only major loggerhead nesting area in the 

 western Atlantic other than the southeastern U.S. Carr et al. 



(1982) also reported frequent nesting by loggerheads, especially 

 at Boca Paila and Isla Contoy. Loggerhead nesting activity in 

 more modest proportions occurs at many points along the gulf 

 coast, west of Quintana Roo, e.g.: the cays off the northern 

 Yucatan coast; the beaches stretching eastward from the Tabasco- 

 Campeche border to Laguna de Terminos; in Vera Cruz, near Cabo 

 Rojo, Montepio, Cerro San Martin and at Punta Gorda; and in 

 Tamaulipas, north of La Pesca. Therefore, the overall impression 

 gained from earlier estimates is that the Caribbean coast, 

 especially northeastern Quintana Roo, may support, or did support 

 at one time, substantial loggerhead nesting activity, while 

 lesser activity characterized the beaches of the gulf coast. 



The information in the WATS I National Report suggested a 

 different situation, with only 160 females nesting on the 

 Caribbean side and nearly 50% more (225) nesting on the Gulf 

 coast. These numbers were smaller, in general, than I would have 

 expected and the greater nesting activity on the Gulf was also 

 puzzling. Fortunately, very useful new information concerning 

 loggerhead nesting in Quintana Roo was presented at WATS II by 



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