15 



Marine Mammals 



dolphins, and porpoises, and 1 1 species of 

 seals and sea lions. Abundance estimates 

 are known for 18 species (Table 2). Of 

 these, 5 species are endangered or threat- 

 ened under ESA guidelines. Although the 

 data are incomplete, right whales in the 

 eastern North Pacific are at critically low 

 levels; only 5-7 sightings have been made 

 in the past 25 years. The eastern North 



Pacific or "California" stock of gray whales 

 has recovered to or surpassed its historical 

 abundance level. Moreover, south of 

 Alaska some mammals have also recov- 

 ered or are recovering to near historical 

 abundance levels (i.e., harbor seal, Califor- 

 nia sea lion, northern fur seal, and the 

 northern elephant seal). 



Sea Turtles 



Six species of sea turtles (Unit 24) regularly 

 spend all or part of their lives off the C.S. 

 Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and in G.S. 

 territorial waters of the Caribbean and west- 

 ern Pacific Ocean: The Kemp's ridley, olive 

 ridley, loggerhead, green, hawksbill, and 

 leatherback. Very few stock assessment 

 data exist for any turtle species in (J.S. 

 waters. 



Studies of nesting densities, however, 

 provide a partial picture of population 

 trends. The Kemp's ridley population has 

 experienced a major decline since 1947 

 from an estimated 40,000 nesting females 

 to less than 800 nests per year between 

 1978 and 1988. Loggerhead nesting pop- 

 ulations have declined over the last 20-30 

 years on more northern (J.S. beaches (e.g., 

 Georgia and South Carolina). On the Atlan- 



tic beaches of south Florida, however, log- 

 gerheads have not shown a decline, and 

 might even be increasing. Green turtle 

 nestings on Florida beaches are low, but 

 they increased between 1971 and 1989. 

 Hawksbill turtles are too few in (J.S. waters 

 for a trend analysis. Leatherbacks nest on 

 beaches of the Virgin Islands and Puerto 

 Rico. Although nesting records are too few 

 to detect trends, their numbers do not ap- 

 pear to be declining. 



Kemp's ridleys, leatherbacks, and 

 hawksbills are listed as endangered 

 throughout their ranges; green turtles are 

 endangered in Florida and threatened in all 

 other locations; and loggerheads are listed 

 as threatened throughout their range. Cur- 

 rently all five species are protected under 

 the Endangered Species Act (Table 2). 



A green sea turtle comes ashore 

 at French Frigate Shoals in the 

 Hawaiian archipelago. 



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