Characteristics of sea turtles incidentally captured in the U.S. Atlantic sea scallop dredge fishery

Interactions between sea turtles and sea scallop dredges are an important conservation issue. In this paper, we present information which can be used to inform bycatch mitigation strategies. We collected samples and data from turtles observed in the U.S. commercial scallop dredge fishery and examined interactions and injuries, genetic samples, and turtle size. Observers documented injuries in about two-thirds (52 of 74) of the live and fresh dead turtles. When the location of the turtle in the gear was described, it was most frequently reported in the dredge (n = 19), in the bag (n = 9), or on top of the catch (n = 7). Although several different injury and interaction scenarios were described by observers, the most common was an injured turtle, caught in the dredge, and brought aboard the fishing vessel. The timing of injuries was often unknown, but when observer comments provided information about timing, most injuries likely occurred before the turtle was brought aboard the vessel. The majority of turtles observed in the scallop dredge fishery were juvenile loggerheads. Mixed stock analysis using genetic data, suggested that most loggerheads captured in the scallop fisheries are from the south Florida nesting population, however there was a high level of uncertainty in these estimates.