Prioritizing fishery management for loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) conservation in the northern Adriatic Sea from reproductive value analysis

Bojan Lazar (Author), Selina S. Heppell (Author)

Abstract

Fisheries bycatch often affects particular size classes of turtles. Because of the late age at maturity, the reproductive value (RV) of small juvenile, large juvenile and adult loggerheads vary by orders of magnitude. RV provides a relative measure of value for individuals, thereby allowing us to estimate the effects of different stressors based on the number of animals killed. Using RV as a comparative index, we assessed the relative impact of trawl and gillnet fi sheries operating in the northern Adriatic Sea on loggerhead populations. We tested several scenarios for bycatch in both fi sheries which signifi cantly differs in the size of captured animals and mortality. Despite high bycatch rates, bottom trawl fi sheries result in direct death of fewer loggerheads (156-260 vs. 346-486 in gill nets), but affect individuals that are older and hence have higher RVs. Because of data limitations for vital rates and bycatch estimates, we looked at a distribution of potential impact for each fi shery. Lessons learned include the need for relative impact assessment because of the sensitivity of adult RV to parameters such as clutch frequency, sex ratio and remigration interval. We anticipate that our analysis will help managers prioritize needs for regulation and mitigation among different fi sheries.

Keywords

sea turtles;bycatch;population modelling;reproductive values;marine conservation;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2009
Typology:	1.12 - Published Scientific Conference Contribution Abstract
Organization:	UP - University of Primorska
UDC:	591
COBISS:	1024483412
Views:	3762
Downloads:	87
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Unknown
Type (COBISS):	Not categorized
Pages:	Str. 86
Keywords (UDC):	mathematics;natural sciences;naravoslovne vede;matematika;zoology;zoologija;general zoology;splošna zoologija;fiziologija živali;anatomija živali;ekologija živali;
ID:	1493371