ML102420147

Marine Turtle Removal Monthly Summary for October 2009

ML102420147
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	11/05/2009
From:	Singewald D Inwater Research Group
To:	Koperski M Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, State of FL, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
References
Download: ML102420147 (5)

Text

Balsam, Briana From: David Singewald [dsingewald@att.net]

Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 8:20 AM To: meghan.koperski@myfwc.com Cc: david_niebch@fpl.com; Logan, Dennis; ed_hollowell@fpl.com; shelly.norton@noaa.gov; vince_munne@fpl.com; bob.hoffman@noaa.gov; mbresette@inwater.org; jodie_gless@fpl.com; dsingewald@att.net

Subject:

October 2009 Marine Turtle Intake Canal Captures Attachments: Notes09.xls; October09rep.rtf; St. Lucie caps 2009.xls

Dear Meghan,

Attached, please find the monthly summary of marine turtle removals for October 2009. In October, we captured fifteen (15) Caretta caretta, and four (4) Chelonia mydas at the intake canal of the St. Lucie power plant on Hutchinson Island. On October 13, a sub-adult loggerhead was captured and found to be lethargic and underweight. This event was considered not causal to power plant operation. All other turtles captured in October were released on the same day of capture.

Throughout the month of October the primary barrier net experienced mostly light loads of algae however, moderate to heavy loads of algae began entering into the canal on October 20 threatening the integrity of the net. On October 22 the primary barrier net failed due to system hardware breaking loose from the north concrete piling submerging the north half of the net 2'-5' underwater. The net was inspected the same day by "Underwater Engineering Services, Inc." (UESI) to look for turtles that may have been caught under the net and assess the cause of the failure. Inwater Research Group biologists increased turtle surveillance and capture efforts to include areas west of the primary net. On October 23, the primary net was lowered completely in order to safely inspect and begin removing algae. On October 25, UESI installed large float buoys onto the primary barrier net creating an effective temporary barrier. On October 28, a thorough inspection of the primary net was completed by Florida Power & Light Co. and UESI which included the concrete pilings, hardware, and cables, A permanent fix to the primary net is currently being worked out. Also, UESI started cleaning and repairing the floats on the 8" barrier net which performed as designed and effectively kept turtles from moving further down the canal. Two juvenile loggerheads were hand captured between the primary net and the 8" net on October 29th and 30th.

Tag numbers and morphometric data for all turtles are attached. Also attached is a spreadsheet of all captures, mortality's, injuries and causal events delineated by species and month/year to date for 2009. This spreadsheet also includes and tracks fresh scrapes occurring on captured turtles and will be helpful in determining the success of the intake pipe cleaning project. If you have any questions or comments about the enclosed data please contact me at your convenience.

Sincerely, David A. Singewald Sr. Environmental Specialist Inwater Research Group, Inc.

4160 NE Hylline Drive Jensen Beach, FL 34957 772-465-6077 1

MARINE TURTLE REMOVALS ST. LUCIE PLANT INTAKE CANAL OCTOBER 2009 Date Species Note Tag #'s SMCL SSCL CSCL CMCW SMCW SMPL Weight Method (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (kg) 10/1/2009 Caretta caretta UUB651/UUB652 63.9 66.2 72.6 67.7 54.4 50.3 42.4 North net 10/1/2009 Chelonia mydas 1 YYB479 54.6 55.1 58.5 49.7 40.4 43.1 20.2 South net 10/1/2009 Caretta caretta 2 YYW342/YYW343 69.6 70.6 75.4 70.1 56.9 52.6 41.4 South net 10/3/2009 Caretta caretta UUB653/UUB654 71.5 73.6 77.3 71.9 57.6 56.0 51.7 North net 10/6/2009 Caretta caretta UUB655/UUB656 60.7 62.2 66.6 64.0 53.4 48.2 34.8 North net 10/13/2009 Caretta caretta 3 69.5 70.8 75.5 71.4 57.6 53.3 39.5 Hand capture 10/13/2009 Caretta caretta 4 UUB657 83.7 85.0 90.8 77.9 64.6 64.3 92.5 Hand capture 10/21/2009 Chelonia mydas 26.3 26.8 28.6 23.9 21.1 22.5 2.5 Hand capture 10/21/2009 Caretta caretta 5 UUB658 95.4 96.2 103.5 94.4 72.2 72.2 124.6 Barrier net 10/25/2009 Chelonia mydas 6 UUB660/UUB661 62.5 63.1 67.0 57.8 49.1 52.7 32.7 Hand capture 10/25/2009 Caretta caretta UUB662/UUB663 75.5 76.6 83.2 79.5 62.4 59.6 66.8 Hand capture 10/25/2009 Caretta caretta UUB664/UUB665 59.1 60.0 65.1 66.9 54.6 48.2 35.0 Hand capture 10/27/2009 Chelonia mydas 7 50.4 51.1 58.7 51.9 41.6 42.3 22.7 Hand capture 10/27/2009 Caretta caretta UUB666/UUB667 60.5 61.7 65.9 63.6 52.6 49.6 37.1 Hand capture 10/27/2009 Caretta caretta 8 YYB108/YYB109 63.8 65.0 70.5 68.2 55.5 50.9 37.2 Hand capture 10/29/2009 Caretta caretta 9 UUB625/UUB670 65.8 67.0 72.3 69.5 56.2 52.9 41.2 Hand capture 10/29/2009 Caretta caretta UUB668/UUB669 66.0 66.9 72.1 67.7 55.2 52.0 36.0 Between barrier nets

Date Species Note Tag #'s SMCL SSCL CSCL CMCW SMCW SMPL Weight Method (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (kg) 10/29/2009 Caretta caretta UUB671/UUB672 56.9 58.1 62.5 58.9 48.6 44.5 27.5 Hand capture 10/30/2009 Caretta caretta UUB673/UUB674 68.8 69.7 76.0 71.1 55.4 52.1 38.2 Between barrier nets

NOTES

1. Recapture. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 8/7/05, 8/30/05, 8/6/06, 9/19/06, 8/29/07, 4/30/08 and 1/26/09.

2. Recapture. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 7/26/09.

3. Turtle found underweight and lethargic and missing approximately 40-50% of right front flipper (healed).

Transported to Marinelife Center by FWCC personnel. Not causal to power plant operation.

4. Adult female. Tail length = 235 mm.

5. Adult female. Tail length = 231 mm.

6. Recapture. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 2/20/98, 7/19/04, 10/16/04, 6/25/05, 7/19/05, 8/15/05, 3/15/06, 8/14/06, 1/28/08 and 12/31/08.

7. Recapture. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 6/13/02, 9/23/04, 11/2/04, 4/18/05, 7/2/05, 8/16/05, 9/25/05, 1/18/06, 3/13/06, 7/23/06, 8/14/06, 9/10/06, 10/22/06, 11/6/07, 2/12/08 and 12/5/08.

8. Recapture. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 8/18/07, 8/21/07, 8/24/07,9/2/07, 9/10/07, 10/25/07, 12/17/07, 1/25/08, 4/6/08, 4/30/08, 7/13/08, 8/24/08, 9/13/08, 10/6/08, 10/18/08, 4/17/09, 6/17/09 and 8/13/09.

9. Recapture. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 9/15/09.

SMCL = Straight Minimum Carapace Length SMCL = Straight Standard Carapace Length CSCL = Curved Standard Carapace Length CMCW = Curved Maximum Carapace Width SMCW = Straight Maximum Carapace Width SMPL = Straight Midline Plastron Length

Loggerheads Green turtles Hawksbills Leatherbacks Kemp's ridley (Chelonia (Eretmochelys (Dermochelys (Lepidochelys (Caretta caretta) mydas) imbricata) coriacea) kempii) Overall Totals Year to Year to Year to Year to Year to Year to Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Captures 15 223 4 123 0 2 0 1 0 0 19 349 Causal Mortalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Non-causal Mortalities 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Causal Injuries 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Sent to rehab 1 13 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 17 Fresh Year to Year to Year to Year to Year to Year to Scrapes Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date Oct-09 Date None 0 21 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 28 Minor 12 143 1 75 0 1 0 0 0 0 13 219 Moderate 3 56 2 38 0 1 0 1 0 0 5 96 Severe 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Percent with mod/sev scrapes 20.0% 26.5% 50.0% 33.3% #DIV/0! 50.0% #DIV/0! 100.0% #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 26.3% 29.2%