A marine biologist from Florida State University is working to improve sea turtle conservation by pinpointing areas along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts where turtles face the greatest risk of being struck by boats.
Mariana Fuentes, a professor of oceanography and environmental science, led research that found one in four stranded turtles in the Gulf and western Atlantic Ocean were victims of vessel strikes. The study aims to inform conservation efforts for four protected species that commonly nest and forage in these regions: loggerhead, green, Kemp’s ridley, and leatherback turtles.
“I’m inspired by the opportunity to conduct research that directly informs conservation strategies and evidence-based policy for threatened species, which is the mission of my lab, the Marine Turtle Research, Ecology and Conservation Group,” said Fuentes. “By identifying regions where vessel strikes are a major threat, this work guides targeted mitigation efforts.”
The findings were published in September in Biological Conservation.
Researchers analyzed data from 2010 to 2022 and found that most vessel-strike injuries affected green turtles in Florida and Texas as well as loggerhead turtles in Florida. Kemp’s ridley turtles were mostly observed with such injuries in Florida but also showed clusters of strandings in Virginia, Georgia, and Mississippi. Leatherback turtles with vessel-strike injuries were primarily found stranded in Massachusetts.
This research is expected to help stakeholders make decisions based on scientific evidence when prioritizing locations for future studies. Sea turtle protection is considered important not only for their survival but also for maintaining healthy marine ecosystems.
“For example, green turtles graze on seagrass beds, maintaining a balance in the ecosystem to support a wide range of marine life,” Fuentes said. “By consuming jellyfish, leatherbacks help control their abundance, which can otherwise disrupt fish populations. Sea turtle nesting behavior also contributes to coastal ecosystems, as unhatched eggs and eggshells provide nutrients that enrich beach vegetation.”
The study reported that nearly all vessel-struck turtles died from their injuries—contradicting earlier scientific speculation that many died from other causes before being hit by vessels.
Allen Foley—a co-author of the publication and research administrator at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI), part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission—explained FWRI’s goal is to identify factors causing sea turtle mortality related to human activities such as boating or fishing.
“Dr. Fuentes has unique insights and perspectives due to her great deal of experience on a wide range of sea turtle research projects,” Foley said. “Vessel-strike injuries are the most commonly identified cause of death for Florida sea turtles, and I suspect this is the case elsewhere. Human activities and behaviors are often why species become threatened or endangered, and usually, the mitigation or adjustment of these activities has a great conservation benefit.”
In addition to this work on vessel strikes, Fuentes co-authored “A Global Sea Turtle Climate Vulnerability Assessment,” published recently in Ecological Indicators. That global study measured how vulnerable sea turtles are to climate-related changes like rising sea levels or shifts in air temperature; it also looked at ocean acidification resulting from warmer waters absorbing more carbon dioxide.
“It’s important to realize the natural world is complex and interconnected and removing any part could have far-reaching consequences,” Foley said. “Sea turtles are long-term components of our natural world, and their removal would no doubt have cascading effects. While species naturally come and go, the loss of sea turtles due to human-related activities or behaviors would be tragic.”
Fuentes’ research received funding partly from the Florida Trustee Implementation Group under Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment.
More information about ongoing research can be found at https://eoas.fsu.edu/.
