Choking loggerhead turtle rescued from pufferfish – via Herp Digest

1210/18, The San Pedro Sun

It was supposed to be just an ordinary evening out on the water, sailing aboard the Felicity on a sunset cruise. However, as tour guide Carlos Soto found out, always expect the unexpected! About 400 feet away from the main Hol Chan Marine Reserve he and Captain Horace Bladen noticed splashing and a struggle in the waters ahead. Fearing that someone was drowning, they drew closer, but their keel would not let them get close. It was close enough, however, that they realized it was a loggerhead turtle in distress.

“We recognized it as the friendly loggerhead turtle from Chato’s Graveyard, and of course, the poor animal looked like it was drowning,” said Soto. “We would see it sinking underwater, then try to come up again for air. There were boats passing but they didn’t notice.” He says that they quickly began signaling and calling for help any way they could, until one boat stopped. After explaining the situation, that boat captain caught the attention of a Marine Park Ranger, who eventually was able to pull the turtle out of the water and into their boat.

Soto thought the turtle was choking on a piece of plastic, but to everyone’s surprise, when the culprit was finally removed from the loggerhead’s windpipe, it was a pufferfish. “We were surprised, but also glad it wasn’t plastic,” said Soto. “The rangers did a great job of removing the fish from the friendly loggerhead, and we’re glad that he will continue to greet our visitors for years to come.”

We too are thankful that Soto and Bladen took the initiative to save one of our beloved sea turtles. These magnificent creatures are a vital part of our waters, and practically mascots of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

Critical Habitat Established For The Endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Gerard LeBlond for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), in conjunction with the Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), has designated two final rules for the critical habitat of the loggerhead sea turtle.

The turtle is a threatened species, and their habitat includes the Atlantic Ocean and coastal beaches along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. NOAA has designated the area – near shore breeding sites, nesting beaches, migratory corridors and areas where juvenile turtles are found, from North Carolina through Mississippi – a critical habitat for the turtle.

According to Reuters, there are 88 nesting beaches in the coastal counties of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. This accounts for an estimated 685 miles of the 1,531 miles of coastal shore line and 84 percent of nesting areas that are used by the loggerhead sea turtle within these states.

“Protecting endangered and threatened species, including loggerhead sea turtles, is at the core of NOAA’s mission. Given the vital role loggerhead sea turtles play in maintaining the health of our oceans, rebuilding their populations is key as we work to ensure healthy and resilient oceans for generations to come,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries, in a recent statement.

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U.S. to protect endangered loggerhead sea turtle habitat - via Herp Digest

Los Angles Times, By Julie Cart, May 3, 2013, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has two months to identify suitable in-water nesting and migratory habitat for endangered loggerhead sea turtles, according to a legal settlement filed this week.

The agreement — between the wildlife service and the groups Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and Oceana — gives the government until July 1 to propose feeding, breeding and migratory habitat in the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The final critical habitat protections must be in place by July 1, 2014, according to the settlement filed Thursday in U.S. district court.

The Fish and Wildlife Service in March proposed protecting more than 739 miles of critical habitat for loggerhead sea turtles on their nesting beaches from North Carolina to Mississippi, about 84% of the turtle’s known nesting areas.