SERO NR 98-047

CONTACT:  Chris Smith, Public Affairs           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
          Gene Proulx, Law Enforcement          August 5, 1998

A nine-month investigation and laboratory analysis by federal wildlife agencies into the mutilation deaths of endangered sea turtles found in Texas in 1997, finds the wounds of 10 turtles were likely caused by shark bites, and are not due to human interaction, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced today.

According to forensic analysis provided by veterinary medical experts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., the wounds of the 10 turtles examined are more typical of the crushing jaws and teeth of a large shark, and do not fit the pattern of damage caused by a knife or an axe. Lab results were inconclusive about whether shark bites caused the turtle deaths or whether the bites occurred after the turtles died from other causes.

The National Marine Fisheries Service Law Enforcement Division began the investigation in November 1997, after 18 endangered or threatened sea turtles washed ashore within a week period on Padre Island National Seashore, many with missing limbs, severed heads, and straight-edged wounds. These deaths occurred just weeks after a dead sea turtle was found in the Galveston area with a chain wrapped around its flipper. Because of concern that the mutilations were being caused by humans, NMFS called on the forensic expertise of the Fish and Wildlife lab after several more apparently mutilated turtles washed up on Padre Island in December and January. The agency sent four of these turtles for forensic analysis.

As part of the investigation, NMFS, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Shrimp Association, and Earth Island Institute were offering a total of $35,000 in rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone associated with the sea turtle mutilations. NMFS has since dropped $5,000 of its $10,000 share of the reward based on the findings of the recent forensic report. However, the agency is still offering a $5,000 reward for information concerning the chained turtle incident. Agency enforcement personnel will continue to investigate suspicious sea turtle deaths and will again obtain help from forensics experts to determine the cause of any future mutilations.

NMFS is an agency of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with responsibility for studying and protecting sea turtles and other marine mammals in U.S. waters. The agency also conducts scientific research and provides services that support marine fisheries management, trade and industry assistance, enforcement, and protected species and habitat conservation programs. This and other NMFS Southeast Regional news releases are available on the regional Internet homepage at http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov.