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<DIV id=publishedOnlineDate>Diversity and Distributions</DIV>
<DIV>Article first published online: 19 FEB 2014</DIV>
<DIV id=doi>DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12183</DIV>
<DIV id=copyright class=copyright></SPAN><SPAN
class=mainTitle></SPAN> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=articleTitle><SPAN class=mainTitle></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=articleTitle><SPAN class=mainTitle><FONT size=5><STRONG>So excellent
a fishe: a global overview of legal marine turtle
fisheries</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV id=ddi12183-cr-0001>Frances Humber<SUP>1,2</SUP>, Brendan J.
Godley<SUP>2</SUP>, Annette C. Broderick<SUP>2,*</SUP></DIV>
<DIV id=publishedOnlineDate><SUP>1</SUP> Blue Ventures Conservation, Level 2
Annex, Omnibus Business Centre, London, UK<SUP>2</SUP> Marine Turtle Research
Group, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn,
UK <SUP>*</SUP> Correspondence: Dr Annette C. Broderick, Marine Turtle Research
Group, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter,
Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, UK. E-mail: <!--TODO: clickthrough URL--><A
title="Link to email address" href="mailto:a.c.broderick@exeter.ac.uk"
shape=rect><FONT color=#007e8a>a.c.broderick@exeter.ac.uk</FONT></A><BR></DIV>
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<DIV id=publicationHistoryDetails jQuery1393295805687="11">
<H4><U>Abstract</U></H4></DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<DIV id=abstract>
<DIV id=ddi12183-sec-0001 class=section>
<H4>Aim</H4>
<DIV class=para>
<P>We provide a global assessment of the current legal direct take of marine
turtles, including the scale and species breakdown at country level, and
investigate the significance of legal take to marine turtle populations within
the wider context of global threats.</P></DIV></DIV>
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<H4>Location</H4>
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<P>World-wide.</P></DIV></DIV>
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<H4>Methods</H4>
<DIV class=para>
<P>We undertook a comprehensive review of the literature (> 500
publications) and contacted over 150 in-country experts to collate data for
countries that permit the legal take of marine turtles (as of 1 January 2013).
Current annual take for each country and species was estimated, and estimates
were generated for the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.</P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV id=ddi12183-sec-0004 class=section>
<H4>Results</H4>
<DIV class=para>
<P>Currently, 42 countries and territories permit direct take of turtles and
collectively take in excess of 42,000 turtles per year, the majority of
which (> 80%) are green turtles <EM>Chelonia mydas</EM> (Linnaeus 1758).
Ten countries account for more than 90% of legal take each year with Papua New
Guinea (36.1%) and Nicaragua (22.3%) accounting for more than half of the total
global take. Since 1980, we estimate that more than 2 million turtles have
been legally taken in these countries, with current levels < 60% of
those in the 1980s.</P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV id=ddi12183-sec-0005 class=section>
<H4>Main conclusions</H4>
<DIV class=para>
<P>Our results provide the most comprehensive global synthesis of the legal take
of turtles in recent years and suggest that legal take has the potential to be a
driver of marine turtle population dynamics, comparable to mortality estimates
through recorded bycatch. However, it is likely that illegal take, along with
bycatch, is significantly under-recorded and far greater than the total level of
directed legal take. This hampers the ability to assess the relative impacts of
these threats to marine
turtles.</P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>