Assessment of Management Scenarios to Reduce Loggerhead Turtle Interactions with Shrimp Trawlers in Georgia

Abstract Recovery of loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta populations depends on many factors, including reducing anthropogenic mortality of adult turtles. Shrimp trawls are considered a major source of mortality for adult loggerhead turtles despite the mandatory use of turtle excluder devices. We modeled scenarios for reducing the likelihood of interaction between nesting adult loggerhead turtles and shrimp trawlers operating off the coast of Georgia during the nesting season (May–August). We used satellite telemetry and aerial surveys to describe the distribution patterns of nesting adult female turtles (2004–2005; n = 22) and shrimp trawls (1999–2005), respectively, across waters adjacent to the Georgia shoreline. Adult female turtles and shrimp trawlers both occupied state waters extensively during the nesting season. Turtles tended to have long, narrow home ranges that were located parallel to shore and that overlapped with the shrimp trawl distribution, which showed a slight grouping around deep channe...