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Sea turtles face both anthropogenic and natural threats including boat strikes, fisheries,
pollution, and predator attacks. Injuries from anthropogenic sources are more common than
naturally caused injuries. The goal of this study was to determine prevalence and cause (e.g. boat
strike, entanglement, hook, shark bite) of injuries on nesting loggerhead sea turtles Caretta
caretta on Juno and Jupiter beaches, Florida, USA. During the 2019 and 2020 nesting seasons, 450
loggerhead females were examined for external injuries. Injuries were categorized by anatomic
location, condition, and cause. We found that 24% of loggerheads had at least 1 injury. Of the 111
injuries found on 107 nesting females, 88% were healed, 9% were partially healed with some
scarred tissue, and 3% were fresh injuries. Most injuries (55%) were lateral injuries on the carapace
or appendages. We were able to attribute 60 injuries to a specific cause. Boat strikes
accounted for 75% of the 60 injuries, shark bites accounted for 15%, fishing hooks accounted for
7%, and entanglements accounted for the remaining 3%. This study provides new insight into the
prevalence of anthropogenic injuries relative to natural injuries in loggerhead sea turtles nesting
in the most densely nested beach in the Western Hemisphere and can be used to improve conservation
management plans through implementation of fishing and/or boating restrictions in the
nesting and foraging areas most commonly frequented by sea turtles.
pollution, and predator attacks. Injuries from anthropogenic sources are more common than
naturally caused injuries. The goal of this study was to determine prevalence and cause (e.g. boat
strike, entanglement, hook, shark bite) of injuries on nesting loggerhead sea turtles Caretta
caretta on Juno and Jupiter beaches, Florida, USA. During the 2019 and 2020 nesting seasons, 450
loggerhead females were examined for external injuries. Injuries were categorized by anatomic
location, condition, and cause. We found that 24% of loggerheads had at least 1 injury. Of the 111
injuries found on 107 nesting females, 88% were healed, 9% were partially healed with some
scarred tissue, and 3% were fresh injuries. Most injuries (55%) were lateral injuries on the carapace
or appendages. We were able to attribute 60 injuries to a specific cause. Boat strikes
accounted for 75% of the 60 injuries, shark bites accounted for 15%, fishing hooks accounted for
7%, and entanglements accounted for the remaining 3%. This study provides new insight into the
prevalence of anthropogenic injuries relative to natural injuries in loggerhead sea turtles nesting
in the most densely nested beach in the Western Hemisphere and can be used to improve conservation
management plans through implementation of fishing and/or boating restrictions in the
nesting and foraging areas most commonly frequented by sea turtles.
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