Loggerhead turtle

A great traveller under threat from fishing fleets

Common Name		Loggerhead turtle; Tortue caouanne (Fr); Cayume, tortuga boba (Sp)
Scientific Name		Caretta caretta
Status		IUCN: Endangered (EN A1abd) CITES: Appendix I CMS listing:Appendix I and II
Population		60,000+ nesting females

Background

This information has been reviewed.

Loggerheads are highly migratory and particularly vulnerable to accidental capture in the nets and long-lines of the world's fisheries. Although Turtle Excluder Devices (TED), fitted into shrimp nets in some countries have lessened the threat, the use of these devices is not yet mandatory everywhere.

Longline bycatch mitigation trials are also being conducted in several places across the world, but will they be in time to halt the decline?

Loggerheads are the most common turtle in the Mediterranean, nesting on beaches from Greece and Turkey to Israel and Libya. However, many of their nesting beaches are under threat from tourist development.

WWF is working to establish a fully representative network of protected areas in the Mediterranean and is collaborating with governments and local conservation organizations to protect loggerhead nesting beaches in Turkey and Greece. Work is also underway in South Africa, Madagascar and Australia among other locations.

Physical Description

The loggerhead turtle has a rusty coloured carapace. It is one of the largest cheloniid turtles, and carries more encrusting organisms such as barnacles on its carapace than the other marine turtles species. This species is distinguished mainly by its large head and strong jaws.

As with leatherbacks, loggerheads are highly migratory, making some of the longest journeys known of all marine turtle species. The possibility that juvenile loggerheads cross the Pacific Ocean has been corroborated by studies showing Baja Californian loggerheads have a genetic affinity with those found in Japan, and recently the first trans-Pacific migration of a loggerhead was recorded with a satellite transmitter. It is thought that an ability to detect wave direction and the Earth's magnetic field enables this species to navigate across open oceans.

Size
On average, the loggerhead has a 92 cm long carapace. Adults weigh about 115kg.

Colour
Rusty coloured carapace.

Habitat

Range States
Nesting range states: Nesting Range States: Angola (?), Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Brazil, Cape Verde (?), Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India?, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Libya, Madagascar, Mexico, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (?), Namibia, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea (?), Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, USA, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British).

Ecological Region
Mediterranean Sea, Southern Australian Marine, Benguela Current, Agulhas Current, Western Australia Marine, Gulf of California, Canary Current, Sulu-Sulawesi Seas, Bismarck-Solomon Seas, Banda-Flores Sea, Great Barrier Reef, Palau Marine, Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, East African Marine, West Madagascar Marine, Mesoamerican Caribbean Reef, Greater Antillean Marine, Southern Caribbean Sea, Northeast Brazil Shelf Marine, Nansei Shoto, New Caledonia Barrier Reef, possibly Yellow Sea.

Why is this species important?

Marine turtles fulfil important roles in marine ecosystems
Loggerhead turtles eat many types of invertebrates, in particular molluscs and crustaceans, and can change the seabed by "mining" the sediments for their favourite prey. Also, loggerhead turtles carry veritable animal and plant cities on their shell. As many as 100 species of animals and plants have been recorded living on one single loggerhead turtle. These animals and plants depend on turtles to have somewhere to live and to prosper. The future for many of these species is intimately linked to marine turtle survival.