Page 5
SPRING 2015
NATURAL RESOURCES PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION
We are always looking for
people to come to the
monthly meetings and
bring us ideas and
suggestions for future
activity. All are welcome!
MEETING SCHEDULE
ON THE
1
st
TUESDAY
OF THE MONTH
Meetings held at the
Nature Center at Blue
Heron Park
May 5, 2015
June 2, 2015
July 7, 2015
August 4, 2015
September 1, 2015
October 6, 2015
November 3, 2015
December 1, 2015
January 5, 2016
February 2, 2016
March 1, 2016
April 5, 2016
KEMP RIDLEY SEA TURTLE
By Chuck Perry
On a Sunny day last August my
daughter, Mariko and her boyfriend,
Louis were fishing for Blues off the
beach at Gateway Great Kills. Mari-
ko got a good hit and figured she
had a nice big Blue on. When she
reeled it in to shallow water she saw
she had hooked a turtle.
They got the turtle up on the beach
and carefully removed the hook.
They had to snip off the barbed end
to get it out of the turtles tongue.
They were very careful and the turtle
seemed to be in good shape. They
took some pictures and released the
turtle back into the surf. It swam off
without looking back.
Only later did they find out that this is
a very special and rare turtle. We
sent the pictures to the Staten Island
Museum for a positive ID as a
Kemp's Ridley sea turtle.
The Kemp’s Ridley turtle is the
world’s most endangered sea turtle,
and with a worldwide female nesting
population roughly estimated at just
1,000 individuals, its survival truly
hangs in the balance. Their perilous
situation is attributed primarily to the
over-harvesting of their eggs during
the last century. And though their
nesting grounds are protected and
many commercial fishing fleets now
use turtle excluder devices in their
nets, these turtles have not been
able to rebound.
Kemp’s Ridleys are among the
smallest sea turtles, reaching only
about 2 feet (65 centimeters) in shell
length and weighing up to 100
pounds (45 kilograms). Their upper
shell, or carapace, is a greenish-grey
color, and their bellies are off-white
to yellowish.
The Kemp’s Ridley is found primarily
in the Gulf of Mexico, but also as far
north as Nova Scotia. They prefer
shallow waters, where they dive to
the bottom to feed on crabs, which
are their favorite food, and other
shellfish. They also eat jellyfish, and
occasionally munch on seaweed and
sargassum. They may live to be 50
years old.
They nest every one to three years
and may lay several clutches of eggs
More NDA’s need to be established
in order to prevent pollution. We
need the help of our local elected
officials, the DEP, and Environmen-
tal Protection Agency (EPA) to over-
see this situation that is contributing
to high levels of pollution in our wa-
terways.
each season. Highly migratory ani-
mals, they often travel hundreds of
miles (kilometers) to reach their
nesting beach, usually the same
beach they hatched from.
We now have endangered sea tur-
tles in our waters, seals on the rocks
and eagles nesting in Princes Bay.
Please join the NRPA so we can
continue the hard work necessary to
improve our marine environment.
