Sea Turtle Strandings -  2010-2012

Presented here is a summary of the sea turtles stranding reports that we have received.  There are more strandings in Belize and when this information becomes available the details will be incorporated into an annual report.

WHERE ARE STRANDED TURTLES FOUNDS?
Sea turtles are found stranded throughout Belize from Ambergris Caye in the north to Punta Gorda in the south.  The locations where stranded sea turtles are found depends on where people live and travel.  Most of the stranded sea turtles have been reported from Ambergris Caye, followed by Belize City and Punta Gorda.  It is likely that there are many other sea turtles that are stranding, but since much of the coast of Belize is not populated it is not possible to observe and record all strandings.

ARE SEA TURTLES STRANDING ALIVE OR DEAD?
Nearly twice as many of the reported strandings are dead (11) in comparison to the live stranded sea turtles (6).  Of the live stranded sea turtles 4 were successfully rehabilitated while 2 did not survive.  

WHAT SPECIES OF SEA TURTLE ARE FOUNDED STRANDED?
The turtle species most often encountered stranded are the loggerhead sea turtles, followed by hawksbills then green turtles. That the majority of turtles impacted are loggerheads this suggests they are the most abundant sea turtle that share the shallow coastal waters off Belize.  Both boat strike turtles were loggerheads indicating the vessels are impacting their habitat along the coast.

WHAT IS CAUSING SEA TURTLES TO STRAND?
It is important to identify threats to sea turtles in efforts to mitigate future impacts.  A variety of threats impact sea turtles in Belize, with unknown impacts being the greatest unfortunately, followed closely behind by Illegal take and boat strikes and illness.

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2010

Loggerhead-Nov 2010
Belize City

Adult female loggerhead found floating near the Port in Belize City in Nov 2010.  A necropsy was conducted at the June 2011 Belize Sea Turtle Workshop.  Fisheries Department personnel found water in the airway indicating the turtle had drowned. Interestingly shrimp trawling was banned in Belize on Dec 31, 2011.  The location where the trawlers operated was along the Victoria Channel from Belize City southward to Placencia.

Photo ECOMAR

2011

Hawksbill - Aug 2011
Sapodilla Cayes

Photo courtesy Carlo Salvinelli (CISP)

Juvenile hawksbill turtle was found by Carlo Salvinelli (CISP in Guatemala) while travelling to Placencia for a workshop near the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve.   The turtle appears healthy, but was left at sea so no necropsy was done to aid in determining cause of death.

Photo courtesy SEA.

Loggerhead - Sep 2011
Pompion Caye

This turtle carcass was found by SEA rangers near Pompion Caye.   The report is that the turtle appears to have been butchered for its meat leaving only the plastron and carapace.  Due to the advanced state of decomposition a necropsy was not conducted.

Caye Caulker - 2011 Loggerhead

Fishermen reported this adult female Loggerhead sea turtle to the staff at the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve.  Upon close examination a large chop wound to the turtle's right front flipper was evident which likely caused the turtle's death.  Why would someone chop a turtle, and not eat it?  It probably got caught in a gill net and when the fishermen went to check the net the turtle was caught and in trying to release the turtle it was chopped and either escaped or intentionally let loose.

Photo courtesy Nidia Chacon

2012

Photo courtesy Herbert Eagen.

Loggerhead - Mar 2012
North Drowned Caye

Adult loggerhead sea turtle was observed floating near North Drowned Caye.  Due to the advanced state of decomposition a necropsy was not performed and so the cause of death is unknown.

Loggerhead - Jun 2012
San Pedro

Loggerhead turtle struck by a boat was found stranded at Journey's End on Ambergris Caye on June 25, 2012.   On the carapace there are 3 visible prop scars and on the head there is one.  This turtle also seems to be missing it left rear flipper. The cause of death was likely the prop cut to the turtle's head.

Photos courtesy Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

Loggerhead - Jun 2012
Belize City

Photo ECOMAR.

Belize Audubon Society Marine Parks Manager Shane Young was notified by Belize City resident Felix Bernard that a dead sea turtle was on the rocks near Memorial Park.  Shane contacted the Belize Fisheries Department who set in motion the Turtle Network and notified ECOMAR.  LInda Searle, Shane and Felix measured and photographed the turtle before burying the turtle in Belize City.    There are two obvious prop scars visible on the carapace of this female turtle. She was likely struck by a water taxi during windy weather and choppy seas off Belize City. 

Green - Jul 11, 2012
Calabash Caye

Juvenile green turtle washed ashore at Calabash Caye, Turneffe Atoll.   University of Belize staff performed a necropsy following the guidelines outlined by Work (2000) but did not observe any clues that would suggest cause of death.

Photo courtesy University of Belize.

Photo courtesy Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

Loggerhead - Jul 2012
San Pedro

This adult female loggerhead found stranded on July 12, 2012 at the San Pedro Marina did not have a head.   The turtle had been dead for several days prior to discovery.  Cause of death could possibly have been that its head was either chopped off by someone, or it was attacked by a shark.

Loggerhead
July 17, 2012
Sittee Point

An adult female Loggerhead sea turtle was found stranded along the beach near Hopkins at Sittee Point.  The turtle had no obvious signs of injury and was photographed and buried at the site.  In cases like this were there are no obvious signs of injury, an assumption is that the turtle may have drowned in a net. It is interesting to note that this loggerhead turtle has no barnacles on its carapace, which is strange for loggerheads!

Photo courtesy Kelli Blank.

Green - Aug 2012
Port Honduras

Garbutt's Marine boat captain Oliver Garbutt observed a floating sea turtle off Punta Gorda on Aug 9, 2012 and notified TIDE.  Science Director James Foley responded to the report and sent a team to recover the turtle from the sea so a necropsy could be conducted.  The necropsy indicated that the turtle had been beaten with a blunt object on the head and catfish spines were found embedded in the tissue. It is suspected that the turtle was caught in a net that also had catfish in it and when the fishermen went to recover the catch they beat the turtle, but the turtle escaped, and later died from it's injuries.

Necropsy report from TIDE available below.

Photo courtesy TIDE.

Photo courtesy Elgav Reina/Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

Loggerhead
​Sep 2012
Ambergris Caye

This adult male loggerhead sea turtle was found stranded dead at sea by sports fishermen who reported it to Hol Chan Marine Reserve.  Here Hol Chan biologist Kirah Forman measures the straight carapace width using calipers.

2016

HAWKSBILL - Jul 13, 2016
​Placencia

An adult female hawksbill sea turtle washed ashore on the sandy beaches of Placencia.  SEA personnel responded to the report and buried the turtle on site. 

GREEN - AUG 9 2016
TURNEFFE ATOLL

Oceanic Society staff encountered a stranded juvenile green turtle that washed ashore on the east side of the beach on Aug 9, 2016.  The left rear flipper was missing but appeared to be very old injury, possibly a birth defect.  The cause of death was undetermined. 

Juvenile green sea turtle found washed ashore at southern Blackbird Caye. Photo Eric Angel Ramos

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