Kemp’s
ridley Sea Turtles on Decline
The population of
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles in Texas is now declining once again, according to a
recent article by
Mary Gaskill in Texas Parks and Wildlife
magazine.
The 2013 season
showed a substantial drop in the sea turtles’ numbers, according to Donna
Shaver, chief of sea turtle science and recovery at Padre Island National
Seashore. Although it is unclear what exactly caused the drop in numbers,
Shaver suspects the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, shrimp trawling, and increased
freshwater inflow might be to blame.
Gaskill is coauthor
of A Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea
Turtles, a guide to the places where people can view sea turtles and
participate in authentic conservation projects. With California Academy of
Sciences research associate Wallace J. Nichols and SEE Turtles cofounder and
director Brad Nahill, Gaskill covers five continents, including the South
Pacific and Caribbean, directing readers to the parks, reserves, and research
sites where they can responsibly observe turtles in the wild, observe female
sea turtles laying eggs, and hatchlings make their harrowing journey from nest
to sea.
Options for on-site
lodging and other amenities are included, if available, as well as details of
other nearby attractions that travelers may wish to include in their
itineraries.
A World-Wide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles will
be released by Texas A&M University Press this fall.
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