BP Oil Spill: STRP Actions to date

Summary of Actions Taken by STRP

Environmentalists Seek Greater Protection for Sea Turtles Imperiled by BP’s Oil Spill

Environmentalists Seek Greater Protection

for Sea Turtles Imperiled by BP’s Oil Spill

Scientists Fear Double Whammy of Drowning in Oil and

Shrimp Nets Will Lead to Extinction in the Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON – With BP’s massive oil spill in the Gulf pushing rare sea turtles closer than ever to extinction, two environmental groups today petitioned the federal government for an emergency extension of the shrimp fishery seasonal closure. The closure is scheduled to expire Thursday, July 15. The groups also asked the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct an analysis required by the Endangered Species Act before allowing the fishery to open as usual to determine whether sea turtles would be jeopardized.

“The government needs to ensure that sea turtles are adequately protected when the shrimp season opens,” said Deborah A. Sivas, Professor of Environmental Law and Director of Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, which is representing California-and Texas-based Turtle Island Restoration Network, and the Center for Biological Diversity.

More than 600 sea turtles have been reported killed or injured since the Gulf spill, and scientists believe this is a tiny fraction of these endangered species that have and will be killed by the disastrous 86-day oil spill that continues to pollute the Gulf. Thousands of adults and hatchlings are leaving their nesting sites and are believed to be heading directly into the spill.

Scientists are concerned that until BP is able to ensure sea turtle survival from the massive oil slick that other threats to turtles need to be considered. Shrimp fishing can kill sea turtles, when the air-breathing animals are caught in the nets and prevented from surfacing to breathe. Shrimp fishing is recognized as the annual leading cause of mortality to adult turtles from industrial fishing activities in the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the world. To ensure the long-term viability of shrimp and fishing in the Gulf, precautions are needed now. The economic loss shrimpers face from the Deep Horizon oil spill should be fully compensated by BP, including any new restrictions that result that are necessary to prevent the extinction of sea turtles in the Gulf.

Todd Steiner, biologist and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network said, “Right now, we need to be protecting the remaining fish and wildlife in the Gulf, so it can provide a genetic pool for wildlife to re-colonize once this mess is cleaned up. This is not the time to be short-sighted and selfish to both future generations of fishers and the American public by vacuuming up all the life that has survived the oil disaster.”

“Sea turtles now face the double-whammy of perishing in the horrendous oil spill or drowning in shrimp nets, and together these threats may push some of the species into extinction in the Gulf,” said Carole Allen, Gulf of Mexico director for Turtle Island Restoration Network in Houston, Texas. “We won’t sit idly and allow this to happen without a fight to ensure everything is done to give these ancient species a fighting chance.”

Sea turtles have been present in the Gulf for tens of millions of years, having out-survived the threats that caused the extinction of dinosaurs, but all U.S. species now find themselves on the endangered species list, due to human impacts that include fishing, oil spills, other pollutants and poaching.

“Hundreds of sea turtles have already been found dead in the Gulf since the spill, and all of these turtles were already nearing extinction. Endangered sea turtles need every bit of protection available to secure their survival,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity, “BP is the bad guy here and owes it to shrimpers to make them financially whole, we support those efforts and urge BP to do the right thing.”

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Urgent Need- Call Your US Sentators & Reps

I need a personal favor. Please call the Houston offices of the Texas senators tomorrow:

Kay Bailey Hutchison: 713-653-3456
John Cornyn: 713-572-3337

THEY ARE BOTH ON VACATION THIS WEEK BUT PERSONAL CALLS WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THEY HAVE EACH BEEN SENT INFORMATION SO THEIR STAFF WILL KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. YOU CAN GO TO THE STRP WEBSITE (WWW.SEATURTLES.ORG) AND SEND AN INTERNET MESSAGE TOO, BUT THE PERSONAL CALLS ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ALONG SO WE CAN PREVENT ANY MORE KEMP’S RIDLEY HATCHLINGS FROM BEING RELEASED.

THANKS IN ADVANCE! We need to hurry.

CAROLE

Texas

• Barton, Joe, Texas, 6th
• Brady, Kevin, Texas, 8th
• Burgess, Michael, Texas, 26th
• Carter, John, Texas, 31st
• Conaway, K. Michael, Texas, 11th
• Cuellar, Henry, Texas, 28th
• Culberson, John, Texas, 7th
• Doggett, Lloyd, Texas, 25th
• Edwards, Chet, Texas, 17th
• Gohmert, Louie, Texas 1st
• Gonzalez, Charlie A., Texas, 20th
• Granger, Kay, Texas, 12th
• Green, Al, Texas, 9th
• Green, Gene, Texas, 29th
• Hall, Ralph M., Texas, 4th
• Hensarling, Jeb, Texas, 5th
• Hinojosa, Rubén, Texas, 15th
• Jackson Lee, Sheila, Texas, 18th
• Johnson, Eddie Bernice, Texas 30th
• Johnson, Sam, Texas, 3rd
• Marchant, Kenny, Texas, 24th
• McCaul, Michael T., Texas, 10th
• Neugebauer, Randy, Texas, 19th
• Olson, Pete, Texas, 22nd
• Ortiz, Solomon P., Texas, 27th
• Paul, Ron, Texas, 14th
• Poe, Ted, Texas, 2nd
• Reyes, Silvestre, Texas, 16th
• Rodriguez, Ciro, Texas, 23rd
• Sessions, Pete, Texas, 32nd
• Smith, Lamar, Texas, 21st
• Thornberry, Mac, Texas, 13th

HATCHLING RELEASES AT THE PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE SHOULD BE STOPPED!

NEWS RELEASE

Tiny Kemp’s ridley hatchlings may end up in the oil slick!

In spite of evidence that sea turtles in the western Gulf may move east in currents into the oil spill, Kemp’s ridley hatchlings continue to be released at the Padre Island National Seashore. Although numerous hatchlings have already been released, clutches (nests) numbering from 84 through 135 are still incubating.

A request is being made to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to act immediately to stop any further releases.

“These tiny members of the Kemp’s ridley population could be moved to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Galveston sea turtle facility and raised until it is safe to let them go,” said Carole Allen, Gulf Office Director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project (STRP), and long time supporter of NMFS head starting from 1978 to 1993. “The Galveston facility has the expertise to take good care of these turtles until the Gulf offers them a chance to live.”

“All the attention is focused on the eastern Gulf with seemingly little interest in the Kemp’s ridley hatchlings,” said Todd Steiner of STRP. “It seems such a simple thing to do to save hundreds of tiny turtles from death by oil.”

STRP Lawsuit Stops BP Burns Pending Scientists' Input

Good news! After we filed a lawsuit against BP, the corporation agreed to stop burning turtles alive in their controlled burns!

In response to a suit we filed Wednesday, BP and the Coast Guard have agreed to stop burning oil off the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. Now, they must involve sea turtle experts to put in place a scientifically-sound plan to protect endangered sea turtles. All burning is currently halted. It can only begin again after a team of scientists has determined how to protect the sea turtles from any future burns.

BP and the Coast Guard backed down and agreed to the requirements of the federal judge overseeing the case. Now, they say, the horrifyingly cruel practice of burning sea turtles will end.

This is the first good news for sea turtles from the BP oil spill that I have heard in months - and especially needed for the highly endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle, which has suffered a tremendous setback in population recovery due to the oil spill.

Just a few months ago, the future of the Kemp's ridley sea turtles, which nest and forage in the Gulf of Mexico, was looking good. This small, endangered sea turtle has struggled back from near extinction when the population declined to just 300 nesting females in the 1980s.

But when the BP oil well blew out on April 20, it not only killed 11 men and brought devastation to Gulf states, it put the Kemp's ridley sea turtles' recovery in doubt and put all of the Gulf's sea turtles and other wildlife in harm's way. We must demand that not only do BP and the Coast Guard protect sea turtles from oil burning operations, but that they protect every single egg, every hatchling and every adult sea turtle to give them a shot at survival.

It is only with continued public scrutiny and pressure that we can ensure that they follow through with the actions needed to protect sea turtles. And I can guarantee you they will put up a good fight, because saving the sea turtles does not benefit them.

It is only with all of us speaking out that we will be able to pressure BP and our federal government to fully restore and protect marine wildlife and habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. I know that I can count on you to help in those efforts, and I greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for your support of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project's efforts, and for being a part of this tremendous victory!

Sincerely,

Todd Steiner

PS I hope you'll take a minute to review the global press that the Sea Turtle Restoration Project has gotten on this issue over the past few days at www.seaturtles.org/inthenews. And I ask that you consider helping us gear up for the long fight that lies ahead for sea turtle survival in the Gulf, with a donation of any size through our secure server at www.seaturtles.org/donate. Thank you!