Doug Perrine/Seapics.com

4/30/2010 Update - 33 Kemp's ridleys found dead on Texas beaches.

Federal officials and conservationists are concerned about unusually large numbers of dead Kemp's ridley turtles that have washed up on beaches along the upper Texas Gulf Coast since April 1.

Twenty-one stranded Kemp's ridley turtles, most of them dead, were found in a zone stretching roughly from Galveston Island to Sabine Pass, said Donna Shaver, Texas coordinator for the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network. Shrimping activity has increased at the beginning of the Kemp's ridleys nesting season on the Upper Texas Coast.

In an April 23 article in the Houston Chronicle, "Shaver said that most strandings usually occurred along the lower Gulf Coast, which is closer to the prime turtle nesting grounds in Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. Shaver and Dr. Roger Zimmerman of the National Marine Fisheries Service said there could be several explanations for the large number of turtle deaths, including an unusually large number of turtles being attracted to a food source in the area. The large number of deaths could also reflect a rebound in the Kemp's ridley population, Zimmerman said. As their numbers increase, more will run afoul of fishing nets, predators, boat propellers or debris, he said."

Carole Allen, director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project's Gulf office, blames the increase of shrimping activity which has been identified as the primary cause of sea turtle deaths. "The shrimp industry has had 20 years to learn how to use Turtle Excluders and get rid of lawbreakers who give them a bad name," Allen said.

The Chronicle story written by Harvey Rice quotes one shrimper named Cooly Nguyen saying that "Nobody likes TEDs on the nets. Save the turtles? For what? The turtle is just an animal. Let the turtle go to hell." "The increase in Kemp's ridley deaths at the start of the nesting season is a tragic commentary and shows that constant law enforcement is needed to make sure shrimpers follow the law," said Allen. "The new Kemp's Ridley Recovery Plan must also recognize that the Upper Texas Coast sees many migrating, foraging and nesting sea turtles and must be given much more attention."

 Click here to download the April 23 Houston Chronicle article.

 Click here to take action and call for increased protections on upper Texas sea turtle nesting beaches.