Gas Embolism Assessment in Sea Turtles: Predictors of Mortality for the Deadliest Pathology related to Trawling

Franchini, Delia; Valastro, Carmela; Ciccarelli, Stefano; Trerotoli, Paolo; Paci, Serena; Caprio, Francesco Di; Lucchetti, Alessandro; Bello, Antonio Di

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-403204/v1

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Of the 1,131 turtles landed alive, 93 died within 30 days while at the rescue centre: 63.4% died the first day, 86.0% by the second day, and 97.8% within 1 week. Except for three turtles that may have died due to hooks or lines from other fishing gears, the cause of death was assessed (evidence of drowning and/or gas embolism (GE); Franchini et al, 2021) or strongly suspected to be the result of capture by trawlers. Therefore, the potential post‐release mortality (assuming that the captivity treatments had positive and not negative effects) would be a minimum of 8.1%.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This suggests that prolonged hauls, together with GE, contribute to delayed mortality. It is still unclear if the most aggravating factor is the depth of the haul (Fahlman et al, 2017) or the temperature of the water (Parga et al, 2020), although it is likely a combination of the two (Franchini et al, 2021). Direct and post‐release mortality provide a minimum mortality rate that—applied to the total bycatch of all the harbours mentiond herein—suggests that around 560 turtles die annually from trawl interaction in the Gulf of Manfredonia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Voluntary fishing logbooks are essential for unveiling unsustainable bycatch levels and appropriate mitigating measures: The case of sea turtles in the Gulf of Manfredonia, Adriatic Sea

Baldi

Salvemini²,

Attanasio³

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Studying the impact of bycatch on marine megafauna, including sea turtles, is challenging for a variety of technical and biological reasons. The Mediterranean Sea has among the highest levels of turtle bycatch globally, notably of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), and bottom trawling represents a particularly relevant threat.2. Bottom trawlers from a recently discovered neritic foraging area, the Gulf of Manfredonia, reported 1,152 loggerhead turtles incidentally caught in the period 2015-2020. Capture locations were available for 497 turtles. These data were complemented by the distribution of fishing effort obtained by the vessel monitoring system.3. High bycatch rates were observed, leading to more than an estimated 5,600 annual captures and to the death of a minimum of 560 large individuals with high reproductive value. These findings are extremely concerning for the affected population and require immediate action. A strong seasonality of turtle bycatch was observed, with most captures occurring in November-March when fishing effort occurs in shallow waters where turtles concentrate all year round. 4. Therefore, a seasonal approach (e.g. adopting measures only in the high-turtle bycatch season) can be pursued as long as the spatial distribution of fishing effort varies among seasons. However, such a spatio-temporal pattern should be monitored; then, in the case of change, although more difficult to implement, an area-based conservation approach should be pursued. Several recommendations are provided, including the urgent implementation of turtle excluder devices, at least on a seasonal basis.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Voluntary fishing logbooks are essential for unveiling unsustainable bycatch levels and appropriate mitigating measures: The case of sea turtles in the Gulf of Manfredonia, Adriatic Sea

Baldi

Salvemini²,

Attanasio³

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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Osteolytic Lesions in a Sub-Adult Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta): A Case Report

Peña Pascucci,

Pernas Mozas,

Garrido Sánchez

2024

Animals

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Osteolytic lesions in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) during rehabilitation are attributed to multiple causes, including gas embolism, hypothermia, and osteomyelitis due to bacterial or fungal infection. This study reports the appearance of osteolytic lesions in a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle with involvement of the right fore and hind flippers, visible swelling of the elbow and knee joints, and accompanied by lameness after 45 days of rehabilitation. Radiographs and computed tomography revealed multiple lytic bone lesions. This was the fourth rehabilitation admission of the turtle after being accidentally captured by trawler ships (bycatch) in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023. Potential causes were dysbaric osteonecrosis due to a past decompression sickness event and hypothermia with osteomyelitis from bacterial infection. Blood cultures and antibiotic susceptibility testing led to the isolation of Ewingella americana responsive to enrofloxacin. This study investigates extensive fore and hind flipper involvement in a sub-adult loggerhead turtle, aiming to determine causes and risk factors. The pathogenesis and significance of these lesions is discussed.

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Gas Embolism Assessment in Sea Turtles: Predictors of Mortality for the Deadliest Pathology related to Trawling

Cited by 2 publications

References 31 publications

Voluntary fishing logbooks are essential for unveiling unsustainable bycatch levels and appropriate mitigating measures: The case of sea turtles in the Gulf of Manfredonia, Adriatic Sea

Voluntary fishing logbooks are essential for unveiling unsustainable bycatch levels and appropriate mitigating measures: The case of sea turtles in the Gulf of Manfredonia, Adriatic Sea

Osteolytic Lesions in a Sub-Adult Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta): A Case Report

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