Incidental captures of sea turtles by swordfish and albacore longlines in the Ionian sea |
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Authors: | Michele?Deflorio Aida?Aprea Aldo?Corriero Nicoletta?Santamaria Email author" target="_blank">Gregorio?De?MetrioEmail author |
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Institution: | Department of Animal Health and Well-being, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Str. Prov. per Casamassima km. 3, I-70010 Valenzano (BA), Italy |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACT: Incidental catches in pelagic longline fishing pose a serious threat to sea turtle populations throughout the world's seas and oceans. In this work, carried out in the framework of the EC-DG-Fisheries 98/008 project, information on sea turtle catch rates from swordfish and albacore longline fishing activities observed in Italian waters off the Ionian Sea during 1999 and 2000, are reported. In addition, biometric data, health status, and tagging return rate of sea turtles captured are provided. A total of 200 sea turtles were caught (198 loggerhead turtles and 2 green turtles), comprising 0.5–15.7% of the total catch in number of individuals. The estimates of the sea turtles caught by the total fishing effort of both longlines in the whole study area were 1084 specimens in 1999 (95% CI = 667–1502) and 4447 specimens in 2000 (95% CI = 3189–5705). Although all sea turtles were released alive, nearly half of them had hooks that could not be removed and remained deeply embedded in the digestive tract. |
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Keywords: | incidental catches large pelagic longlines Mediterranean Sea sea turtles |
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