loggerheads along the southeastern U.S., can Yucatan loggerheads 

 be considered endangered or the Colombian loggerheads extinct? I 

 think we must continue to grapple with these technical/emotional 

 issues, for we must continue to assign priorities to Caribbean 

 conservation efforts. 



There are ways to identify species, local populations, even 

 individual animals by characteristics of the genetic material 

 (genotypic tags) or the body protein (phenotypic tags) . Efforts 

 to identify sea turtle stocks have been partially successful. We 

 can tell a Chelonia hamburger from a Caretta hamburger, but we 

 have not yet been able to separate a Tortuguero, Costa Rica, 

 Chelonia from an Aves Island, Venezuela, Chelonia. Many people 

 are working on this research challenge. The payoff to 

 management, if the research succeeds, is so great that we must 

 continue to support this work. Even if the chances for success 

 are not great, we still need to keep trying. 



Impact Assessment Mitigation 



I would like to conclude with a discussion on impact 

 assessment. If recovery and management of sea turtle populations 

 in the Caribbean represent our primary objectives, then this is 

 where the research is needed. This is the war in the trenches. 

 In the United States, an enormous amount of money and human 

 energy are being spent on behalf of loggerheads and Kemp's 

 ridleys being impacted by beach lights, sea walls, and trawl 

 nets. The number of volunteers working on these projects must 

 number in the thousands. The U.S. government spends millions of 

 dollars on the personnel and project expenses it dedicates to sea 

 turtle conservation in its territorial waters. Throughout the 

 Caribbean, there are many problems that need research assistance, 

 but there are few funds and not enough people to help. 



Degradation of foraging habitat and its effect on turtle 

 populations would be one example of a Caribbean management need 

 requiring research assistance. Development of nesting beaches 

 for the tourist industry would be another. There are thousands 

 of beaches on hundreds of islands threatened by resort 

 development, and if a beach is not used for tourism, it may be 

 used for sand mining. I have heard it said by a dozen speakers 

 in the last few days that sea turtles of all species have 

 disappeared from many historical nesting beaches because of 

 development, but I cannot find out why. Loggerheads nest 

 successfully on heavily developed Florida beaches, given proper 

 protection. Leatherbacks seem to do well on Sandy Point, USVI, 

 where groups of 20-100 people are not uncommon at night. We urge 

 guests at Pasture Bay, Antigua, to come out and witness the 

 nesting hawksbills. As far as we can tell, the noise, light, and 

 general commotion of the visitors do not adversely affect the 

 hawksbills, at least not yet. 



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