The tragic story of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle and its struggle to recover is shown in the graph below. Although exact numbers are not available for the population of Kemp's ridleys in the 1940s, it is known that there was a healthy population and thousands of turtles nesting on one beach near Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. As the population of nesting Kemp's ridleys was exploited at the beach site and killed in shrimp nets in U.S. waters, the numbers fell further bringing this species to the brink of extinction.
Numbers shown beginning in 1978 have been submitted by both American and Mexican biologists. The eventual gradual increase in nestings particularly in the last few years can be credited to total protection at the Mexican beach including establishment of a marine reserve offshore, the implementation of the Turtle Excluder Device in U.S. waters and the public awareness which grew when HEART (Help Endangered Animals-Ridley Turtles), the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, the Center for Marine Conservation and other conservation organizations concentrated on the need for sea turtle protection. Continuous public education at the Padre Island National Seashore has brought a high level of public awareness and support for sea turtle conservation laws and programs.
The official government Recovery Plan for the Kemp's ridley sea turtles lists the following Recovery Criteria: Continue complete and active protection of the known nesting habitat and the waters adjacent to the nesting beach (concentrating on the Rancho Nuevo area) and enhanced production/survival of hatchling turtles; essentially eliminate mortality from incidental catch in commercial shrimping in the United States and Mexico through use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) and to achieve full compliance with the regulations requiring TED use; attain a population of least 10,000 females nesting in a season, and successfully implement all priority recovery tasks.
Although increased nesting is gratifying, it is evident that we have a long way to go.
Last Updated on 2/28/99
By Jane Allen