The decreasing trend in catch rates indicates the need for take limits on legal, artisanal green sea turtle fisheries as a 20-year assessment of a Nicaragua's fishery has indicated that overall turtle catch rate is becoming unsustainable. Caribbean coastal waters of Nicaragua contain extensive areas of sea grass, the principal food source for green turtles (the only herbivorous sea turtle species). Green turtles in turn support a number of indigenous Miskitu and Afro-descendent communities that rely on the marine reptiles for income and as a source of protein.
Over the duration of the assessment, the scientists recorded that at least 155,762 green turtles were caught, and they estimated a total catch of 171,556 turtles. The average catch rate per fishing trip revealed an overall decline from 6.5 turtles to 2.8 turtles caught, representing a 56% decline over two decades.
The study appears in the online journal PLOS ONE.
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