In previous years from 1991 through 1999, the average number of strandings for this area was 2,382 a year. The strandings had their highest increase in the mid-Atlantic states and the Gulf coast of Florida. There are seven species of sea turtles worldwide - green, loggerhead, olive ridley, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, and leatherback. All species of sea turtles in U.S. waters are threatened or endangered and are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. Everywhere that sea turtles are found, conservation groups like the Sea Turtle Restoration Project work to combat the hazards that the marine turtles face.
Many human activities contribute to strandings.
Some of the turtles that strand are found with fishing gear such as gillnets or hooks and line attached to the carcass. Loggerhead sea turtle Domestic and international, commercial and recreational fisheries that deploy gillnets, trawls, pots, pound nets, longlines and hook and line are all known to accidentally kill or injure turtles with their fishing gear. Turtles may also ingest or become entangled in marine debris. Dredging operations, power plants and boating activities are documented to accidentally kill or injure turtles. Disturbance of nests and nesting turtles on beaches, and the harvest of adult turtles in some nations may also impact some of the same turtles that forage in U.S. waters.