Section 7 Species Presence Table: Sea Turtles in the Greater Atlantic Region
Information on sea turtle presence in the New England/Mid-Atlantic area for Section 7 consultations.
General distribution: Four species (loggerhead, green, Kemp's ridley, and leatherback) found throughout continental shelf and slope waters of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean; tropical to boreal waters, preferred temperatures greater than 10°C; northward and inshore movement into waters of the Greater Atlantic Region begins in the spring, with turtles arriving into mid-Atlantic waters in mid-April/May and into Gulf of Maine waters in June; in the fall, this trend is reversed with most turtles leaving the region's waters by the end of November; outside of these times, sea turtle presence in the region's waters is considered unlikely aside from cold-stunned individuals that fail to migrate south (see below); a fifth species (hawksbill) is considered extremely rare in the region based on only a few documented occurrences and its affinity for tropical waters and coral reef type habitats.
Disclaimer: The best available information on the presence of sea turtles in the Greater Atlantic Region is presented below; coastal/inshore areas of regular occurrence highlighted below are ones where we have information specific to sea turtle use of the area that would be helpful for action agencies reviewing proposed actions and their potential effects on turtles; however, they may occur in other coastal/inshore areas within this region for which we do not currently have specific information; for nesting individuals, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has jurisdiction over sea turtles when they are on land.
State | Coastal/Inshore Areas of Regular Occurrence | Likely Presence | Life Stages Present | Behaviors Anticipated to Occur |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maine / New Hampshire and Massachusetts (north of Cape Cod) | Cape Cod Bay | June to October/November (note: cold stunning of hard-shelled sea turtles occurs annually from October to January) |
Loggerhead (Northwest Atlantic DPS) - Pelagic and benthic juveniles, sub-adults, and adults Green (North Atlantic DPS) - Juveniles and adults Kemp's ridley - Juveniles only Leatherback - Juveniles and adults |
Foraging: Loggerhead (Northwest Atlantic DPS) - Pelagic and benthic juveniles - Omnivorous on bottom and surface Sub-adults and adults - Benthic invertebrates along the coast
Green (North Atlantic DPS) - Juveniles - Omnivorous along coasts and in protected bays and lagoons Adults - Herbivorous in nearshore areas
Kemp's ridley - Juveniles - Benthic invertebrates in protected coastal areas
Leatherback - Juveniles and adults - Primarily prey on jellyfish in offshore oceanic or coastal neritic areas
Nesting: North of North Carolina, sea turtle nesting is rare (there is occasional loggerhead nesting in Virginia, but no established nesting beaches further north) |
Massachusetts (south of Cape Cod)
|
Buzzards Bay, Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds |
May to November (note: cold stunning of hard-shelled sea turtles occurs annually from October to January) | ||
Rhode Island
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Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound
|
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Connecticut / New York | Long Island Sound and associated bays/estuaries (e.g., Peconic Bay) | |||
New York / New Jersey | Coastal waters off the New York Harbor Complex (e.g., Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays) | |||
New Jersey/Delaware | Delaware Bay and other back bays (e.g., Barnegat Bay) | |||
Delaware/ Maryland / Virginia | Coastal waters off Virginia Beach, coastal waters and back bays of the DelMarVa Peninsula, Chesapeake Bay, Tangier Sound, and lower portions of southern Chesapeake Bay tributaries (e.g., James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac Rivers) |
Species | Listing Rule | Recovery Plan | Additional References |
---|---|---|---|
Loggerhead (Northwest Atlantic DPS) |
76 FR 58868, September 22, 2011 | NMFS and USFWS 2008 | Shoop and Kenney 1992; Epperly et al. 1995a, 1995b, 1995c; Braun-McNeill and Epperly 2004; Morreale and Standora 2005; Braun-McNeill et al. 2008; Conant et al. 2009; Mansfield et al. 2009; NMFS NEFSC 2011; Griffin et al. 2013 |
Green (North Atlantic DPS) |
81 FR 20057, April 6, 2016 | NMFS and USFWS 1991 | Lahanas et al. 1994; Wynne and Schwartz 1999; Ruiz-Urquiola et al. 2010; Seminoff et al. 2015 |
Kemp's ridley | 35 FR 18319, December 2, 1970 | NMFS et al. 2011 | TEWG 2000; Morreale et al. 2007; NMFS and USFWS 2015a |
Leatherback | 35 FR 8491, June 2, 1970 | NMFS and USFWS 1992 | Bjorndal 1997; TEWG 2007; Fossette et al. 2008; Dodge et al. 2011; NMFS and USFWS 2013a |
Hawksbill | 35 FR 18319, December 2, 1970 | NMFS and USFWS 1992 | NMFS and USFWS 2013b |
To view the full references, see Citations and References for All Species.