title: Predicting bycatch hotspots for endangered leatherback turtles on longlines in the Pacific Ocean.
abstract: Fisheries bycatch is a critical source of mortality for rapidly declining populations of leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea. We integrated use-intensity distributions for 135 satellite-tracked adult turtles with longline fishing effort to estimate predicted bycatch risk over space and time in the Pacific Ocean. Areas of predicted bycatch risk did not overlap for eastern and western Pacific nesting populations, warranting their consideration as distinct management units with respect to fisheries bycatch. For western Pacific nesting populations, we identified several areas of high risk in the north and central Pacific, but greatest risk was adjacent to primary nesting beaches in tropical seas of Indo-Pacific islands, largely confined to several exclusive economic zones under the jurisdiction of national authorities. For eastern Pacific nesting populations, we identified moderate risk associated with migrations to nesting beaches, but the greatest risk was in the South Pacific Gyre, a broad pelagic zone outside national waters where management is currently lacking and may prove difficult to implement. Efforts should focus on these predicted hotspots to develop more targeted management approaches to alleviate leatherback bycatch.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, , Pembroke, NC 28372, USA, Department of Biology, Indiana-Purdue University, , Fort Wayne, IN 46805, USA, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, , Ithaca, NY 14853, USA, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, , Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA, NOAA/NMFS/SWFSC/Protected Resources Division, , Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA, Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network, Duke University Marine Laboratory, , Beaufort, NC 28516, USA, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, , Solomons, MD 20688, USA, Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science, Drexel University, , Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA, The Leatherback Trust, Goldring-Gund Marine Biology Station, , Playa Grande, Costa Rica, NOAA/NMFS/SWFSC/Environmental Research Division, , Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA, NOAA/NMFS/SWFSC/ Protected Resources Division, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Roe
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Morreale
authors.forename: Frank V
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Paladino
authors.forename: George L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Shillinger
authors.forename: Scott R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Pilar Santidrián
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Tomillo
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bograd
authors.forename: Tomoharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Dutton
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Seminoff
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Block
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Spotila
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D005398:Fisheries; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology; D014426:Turtles / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: critically endangered species; fisheries bycatch; marine conservation; marine turtles; migratory pelagic vertebrate; satellite tracking