40 C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr. 



tened or endangered by most sea turtle biologists, depending on the 

 breeding population involved (World Conference on Sea Turtle Conser- 

 vation 1979). 



In the Caribbean, the green turtle has a long history of exploitation 

 (see Parsons 1962 for extensive review), chiefly as a source of meat dur- 

 ing colonial exploration, then for sale primarily to European markets. 

 As a result, the remnant nesting populations, centered at Tortuguero, 

 Costa Rica (Carr et al. 1978) and Aves Island, are believed to be but a 

 fraction of a once huge population. Scattered nesting still occurs on 

 many Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico beaches, but everywhere there is 

 pressure on these populations. Indeed, although protected for many 

 years, concern has been expressed about the survival and viability of the 

 Tortuguero colony (Bjorndal 1980), and Aves Island is threatened by 

 erosion. Because of the nesting site fixity of green turtles, it is likely that 

 each nesting area constitutes a unique gene pool (Smith et al. 1978; 

 William R. Rainey, pers. comm.), thus accentuating the importance of 

 the conservation of each nesting population. 



In accordance with Section 7 of the U.S. Endangered Species Act 

 of 1973, as amended, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible 

 for the determination of Critical Habitat for listed Endangered and 

 Threatened species. While I will not discuss the concept in detail, such a 

 determination is a conservation tool that requires Federal agencies to 

 insure that activities they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to 

 jeopardize the particular habitat on which the species depends (see 

 Dodd 1978 for a complete discussion of the concept as it applies to 

 marine turtles). Since the Florida population of Chelonia mydas is listed 

 as Endangered on the U.S. List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

 and Plants, the determination of its Critical Habitat might provide an 

 additional important conservation measure. This paper, done in prepa- 

 ration of background material for a proposal of Critical Habitat for the 

 species, reports on the level of green turtle nesting in Florida. It is not 

 an endorsement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of a proposal 

 under the legal requirements of the Act. 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 



Prior to Carr and Ingle's (1959) first report of definite nesting by 

 two turtles, there appears little in the literature to indicate that green 

 turtles ever nested in significant numbers on Florida beaches. Indeed, 

 there is some question whether any green turtles nested on the mainland 

 at all, since references to them are largely confined to fisheries statistics 

 or secondhand accounts. While Carr and Ingle (1959) provided a brief 

 literature review, it would be well to reexamine these references. 



The first reference to green turtles in southeastern U.S. waters was 



