Local News
Sea turtles might not be endangered
By Fred Bonner, Outdoor Writer


Sea turtles may not be as 'endangered' as many claim

In recent years the environmentalists have been "crawling out of the woodwork" waving a banner touting the "endangered sea turtles".

Entire cults, rivaling the "Bambi Cult," have grown up around preserving these so-called "endangered reptiles."

On the other side of the coin are the conservationists who keep trying to tell the endangered species scientists that the turtles really aren't that endangered. Commercial and sport fishermen constantly report seeing large numbers of these turtles swimming offshore yet the reports that say that the turtles are abundant, get conveniently overlooked.

Recently scientists from Canada have been shocked at what they've found off Canada's east coast. Huge concentrations of the most "endangered" of all sea turtles have shown up far to the north of where they are supposed to be. Could this discovery of large numbers of leatherback turtles change its status as an endangered species, I doubt it very seriously. If this, or any, sea turtle should lose its status under the Endangered Species Act, civil service jobs would be lost and the radical environmentalists would be very upset.

According to Jennifer Robinson of the Canadian News Service, "scientists are stunned at number of endangered sea turtles off the Atlantic coast, the scientists have been absolutely amazed at the numbers of giant leatherback sea turtles that they've recently found there." .

"Mike James, a biologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, hopes the recorded sightings put to rest the idea that Atlantic leatherbacks - the world's largest sea turtles - are an anomaly off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

"His research, collected over the past five years, indicates the turtles regularly make the pilgrimage north from the sunny South American and Caribbean beaches where they were born to feast on fields of jellyfish near the Scotian Shelf.

"We had an incredible number of leatherbacks reported this year," James says. "I can't tell you exactly what was going on out there, because I don't know. But turtles were relatively abundant this year - certainly more abundant than in the last four or five years."

"Two-hundred turtles were spotted in 1998 by fishermen and researchers - far more than had been documented over the past century. That number has at least doubled this year", says James.

We're told that leatherbacks, so-called because they have brown or black skin instead of a hard shell or scales, have been poached nearly to extinction worldwide for their eggs, meat and skin.

"One of the reasons sightings may be increasing", Mike James says, "is simply because biologists now realize the importance of using sport and commercial fishermen as their scouts".

"For the past few summers, Bert Fricker and his brother Blair have taken out their 10-metre Cape Islander and swept the Northwest Atlantic looking for turtle heads popping above the waves.

"The largely volunteer pastime is a natural extension for them since fishermen in their family have told stories for generations about seeing the odd turtle at sea", says Bert Fricker.

"Every year we see a few, but this year was definitely one of the highest," he says from his home in Neils Harbour in northern Cape Breton.

"The last day we were out we probably saw 31 or 32. It's a good sign for an endangered species."

"Fricker says the huge turtles, which can weigh more than 500 kilograms, are surprisingly docile and don't seem to mind being close to humans as they dive for food or doze off while floating on their backs.

"Despite being around for an estimated 100 million years, little is known about the habits and lifespan of sea turtles, including where they wander and why.

"Much of what scientists have learned has come relatively recently, as efforts increase worldwide to try to stop the turtles' slide toward extinction.

"The Frickers, using specialized gear and a ramp on their boat, have carefully hauled dozens of leatherbacks out of the water and tagged their powerful flippers.

"The markers have helped identify how far the turtles have traveled. James's network has received e-mails from researchers watching nesting beaches in Trinidad, Costa Rica and Panama.

James says "it's a likely bet leatherbacks are braving the East Coast's chilly waters because the abundance of jellyfish is worth the 5,000-kilometre trek".

"The only logical explanation when you look at animal migration in general . . . is the resource is worth the swim." he says, adding the foraging population probably numbers in the hundreds.

"It's also why they spend an awful long time up here. We've been very surprised to see animals continue to forage into December."

"The turtles grow immense while gorging in Canadian waters typically from May to October - so fat that rolls of flesh can be seen hanging off their necks and tails, James says.

"The extra bulk comes in handy for their lightning-speed return trip south - the creatures don't have to slow down much to eat."

To many it looks like some scientists do not want it known that the sea turtles are becoming more abundant every year. If the species were to be declared "fully recovered" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) then substantial segments of the scientific community would be out of a job, research grants would dwindle to a trickle and people would lose a lot of enthusiasm for protecting the turtles.

In a somewhat similar case the bald eagle was protected and has now recovered to the point that it was down-listed from endangered status to threatened status. Scientists in the know in Washington, D.C. are quick to tell you that the bald eagles shouldn't even be on the threatened list of the ESA because its population has fully recovered. There are plenty of bald eagles around and one wonders just why it continues to be listed on the ESA instead of just being classified as protected.

Many feel that the only reason that it remains under the coverage of the Endangered Species Act is purely political. If the bald eagles were to be dropped from the ESA then certain factions of the preservationists are afraid that someone might shoot or harm our National Bird. Conservationists (as opposed to environmental preservationists) are very aware that we are seeing more bald eagles that we've ever seen and their population is increasing yearly. If it were to be de-listed from the ESA than a lot of people would be out of a job and radical environmentalists would lack one of their weapons that they use to advance their radical agenda.

One can't help but wonder just how the wildlife agencies can object when a landowner wants to build a house near an eagles nest yet have few objections when the Navy wants to build a very loud Offsite Landing Facility (OLF) close by

Witness what happens here in North Carolina should an eagles nest be discovered on your land. You might as well kiss your rights to your own land good-bye because the government now tells you what you can and can't do on your own property even there's no evidence that what you might do will harm the birds.

This is the very reason that the Endangered Species Act, a well meaning piece of legislation that's gone bad, is under such heavy fire today. After 30 years of over-zealous enforcement and the government trampling on the rights of private citizens, the ESA just may be seriously rewritten and revised in order to protect the Americans from our own government.

Fred Bonner is a native of Aurora and is an Eagle Scout, veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a graduate of N.C. State University with a degree in Wildlife Management. He is also a graduate of the National Fish Disease School. He is a former research biologist at the Pamlico Marine Laboratory and is the former editor of Carolina Adventure magazine. He welcomes comments and suggestions and may be reached at 7220 Cleveland School Road, Garner, N.C. 27529 or by e-mail at fbonner@mindspring.com.