Sea turtle status and conservation efforts in the NMI

Reprinted from the Marianas Variety, Jan 18, 2010. Link to the original article at:
http://www.mvariety.com/2011011733495/local-news/sea-turtle-status-and-conservation-efforts-in-the-nmi.php

(CNMI Sea Turtle Conservation Program) — There has been a recent flurry of activity in the news lately regarding sea turtles and associated court cases. This is a brief update regarding sea turtle status in the CNMI and a summary of current activities of the Department of Land and Natural Resources Sea Turtle Research and Conservation Program.

Sea turtles are a long-lived species with a complex life history. They undertake wide-ranging, international migrations and reach maturity (age at first reproduction) at about 30 years of age.  This life cycle leaves turtles vulnerable to multiple sources of mortality or impacts (harm) ranging from natural environmental causes to human- caused impacts from development, disease, fisheries, or direct harvest.

The status of green turtles in the Mariana Archipelago is not well known due to the lack of long-term data on nesting and foraging populations. “Long-term” data in this case means population information ranging over the species lifespan, or about read more....

Additional information

Volunteer with the Sea Turtle Program:
664-6026/ haggan@pacmares.com info@pacmares.com
CNMI Sea Turtle Conservation Program:
664-6024/ info@pacmares.com
Report harassment or capture of turtles:
DLNR Enforcement 664-6030/898-3570
Rota DLNR 532-9494/5
Tinian DFW 433-1404/1
On the web: http://www.pacmares.com/stp/Welcome.html  
www.ihaggan.com