A new study has found that the waters off Cape Cod and the Islands are the most deadly for leatherback sea turtles across the entire East Coast, where they are vulnerable to vessel strikes.
The study, published in “Biological Conservation” in an article called “Navigating danger: Watercraft-related mortality of sea turtles in the United States Atlantic and Gulf coastal waters,” documents vessel strikes on four federally protected species — leatherback, Kemp’s ridley, green, and loggerhead.
The waters off Florida, Texas, and Virginia see the most vessel strikes for all four species where the turtles can be found year-round, but the highest number of strandings of vessel-struck leatherbacks occurs off the coast of Massachusetts. Out of the 337 leatherbacks struck by boats along the East and Gulf coasts between 2010 and 2022, 88 incidents, or 26 percent, occurred in Barnstable and Dukes counties, and 96 percent of those stranded leatherbacks died.
The study found that leatherbacks see the lowest number of strandings compared with the three other species, but have the highest proportion of vessel strikes. This is because local waters are a busy area for recreational and commercial boats, and leatherbacks tend to swim and feed at or near the surface of the water.
The leatherback, the largest sea turtle in the world, and the only turtle species that lacks scales and has a hard shell, is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
The study was led by Dr. Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes, professor in the department of earth, ocean, and atmospheric science at Florida State University, and assisted by Karen Dourdeville, Bob Prescott, and Mark Faherty of Mass Audubon, the largest nature-based conservation organization in New England, as well as members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration national Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network.
“This is an important study because it means we can better compare stranding numbers for a large geographic area, and across four different species, to identify stranding trends. Knowing these trends can potentially help us prioritize crucial interventions and boater outreach that could cut down on sea turtle mortality rates,” said Dourdeville, Prescott, and Faherty in a press release. “Some years, many leatherbacks remain farther offshore, not spending extended periods feeding in Cape Cod Bay, Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, and Buzzards Bay. These lower occurrence trends mirror the total number of strandings. Of special note, however, is that, although the total number of vessel-struck leatherback strandings may be down in recent years in our local waters, the percentage of stranded leatherbacks killed by vessel strikes has risen.”
Boaters and others can report any sightings or strandings at seaturtlesighting.org.
Vineyard Wind Environmental Impact Statement predicted a measurable loss of sea turtles due to the cumulative impacts of the OSW construction and operation. Will the foreign energy companies in our waters be forced to further limit their activities because of this new study?
Has OSW construction and operation resulted in any turtle strikes?
Oil tankers?
“Vineyard Wind Environmental Impact Statement predicted a measurable loss of sea turtles due to the cumulative impacts of the OSW construction and operation.” Source?
You trust the science?
Selectively?
With the massive offshore industrialization and enormous increase in wind-industry ship traffic occurring in these same areas, does this actually surprise anyone? The Environmental Impact Statements of these projects clearly state that tens of thousands of sea turtles and marine mammals will suffer harm.
With the massive offshore industrialization of the Gulf of America and enormous increase in oil tanker traffic occurring, does this actually surprise anyone?
The Environmental Impact Statements of these projects clearly state that tens of thousands of sea turtles and marine mammals will suffer harm.
Interesting article. I think a strong question to raise about the article is how the study actually measured and verified leatherback turtle vessel strikes, and whether underreporting or detection gaps might skew the results.
It also makes sense to ask what is driving the Cape and Islands to be a unique hot spot for leatherbacks compared to other regions, and whether seasonal feeding patterns or boat traffic explain the spike.
Finally, one might want to know what conservation steps are being proposed—like speed limits, exclusion zones, or boater outreach—and how realistic those measures are given local economic and enforcement challenges
The main cause of leatherback mortality in my experience is gear entanglement. I’ve seen it a lot over the years.
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