ML13063A512

February 2013 FPL Marine Turtle Removal Monthly Report

ML13063A512
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	03/01/2013
From:	Weege S - No Known Affiliation
To:	Koperski M Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML13063A512 (9)

Text

1 NRR-PMDAPEm Resource From: Stephen Weege [steveweege@yahoo.com]

Sent: Friday, March 01, 2013 8:21 AM To: Meghan Koperski Cc: Mike Bresette; Dave Clark; EndangeredSpecies Resource; Ken Frehafer; Jodie Gless; Ed Hollowell; MTP@MyFWC.com; Vince M unne; Dave Niebch; Shelley Norton; SCO@dep.state.fl.us

Subject:

February 2013 FPL Marine Turtle Removal Monthly Report Attachments:

February 2013 Marine Turtle Captures.rtf; Mont hly Report Notes 2013.pdf; FPL St Lucie Capture Summary 2013.pdf; Power Plant Causal Turtles.pdf Mrs. Meghan Koperski Tequesta Field Laboratory 19100 SE Federal Highway Tequesta , FL 33469

Subject:

Marine Turtle Removal Monthly Summary February 2013

Dear Meghan,

Attached, please find the monthly summary of marine turtle removals for February 2013. This month, we captured eight (8)

Caretta caretta and eight (8) Chelonia mydas in the intake canal of the St. Lucie power plant on Hutchinson Island. There was one sea turtle sent for rehabilitation in the month of February; there were no mortalities. Moving forward, a new Excel spreadsheet has been added to the monthl y report that tracks all causal injuries and mortalities incurred by sea turtles at the Saint Lucie Plant since 2001.

On February 23 rd , a juvenile green turtle was hand captured near the base of the temporar y 5-inch barrier net by Inwater Research Group biologists. This turtle had entanglement-related injuries with fishing line wrapped around its head and front flippers.

After consultation with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, this incident was consid ered to be not causal to power plant operations. A volunteer from the Marinelife Center picked up the animal and transported it to th eir facility in Juno Beac h for rehabilitation.

Throughout the month, the 5-inch barrier net experienced light loads of algae that entered into the intake canal system and jellyfish entrainment was negligible. Overall, the temporary barrier net has performed as designed and no turtles have been observed beyond the 5-inch net.

To date, Florida Power & Light continues to work towards the installation of a permanent 5-inch barrier net.

The tag numbers and morphometric data for all turtles captured during the month have been included (see attachments/addendums). Also included is a spreadsheet fo r all captures, mort alities, injuries, and causal events delineated by species and by month for the year 2013. In addition, this spreadsheet also tracks fresh scrapes incurred on captured turtles for the current month, as well as the entire year.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

2 Steve

Steve Weege Sr. Environmental Specialist Inwater Research Group, Inc.

4160 NE Hyline Dr.

Jensen Beach, FL 34957 sweege@inwater.org (772) 349-7252 Hearing Identifier: NRR_PMDA Email Number: 620 Mail Envelope Properties (1362144032.8081.YahooMailNeo)

Subject:

February 2013 FPL Marine Turtle Removal Monthly Report Sent Date: 3/1/2013 8:20:32 AM Received Date: 3/1/2013 8:20:48 AM From: Stephen Weege Created By: steveweege@yahoo.com Recipients: "Mike Bresette" <mbresette@inwater.org>

Tracking Status: None "Dave Clark" <dclark@inwater.org>

Tracking Status: None "EndangeredSpecies Resource" <EndangeredSpecies.Resource@nrc.gov> Tracking Status: None "Ken Frehafer" <Ken_Frehafer@FPL.com> Tracking Status: None "Jodie Gless" <Jodie_Gless@FPL.com>

Tracking Status: None "Ed Hollowell" <Ed_Hollowell@FPL.com> Tracking Status: None "MTP@MyFWC.com" <MTP@MyFWC.com> Tracking Status: None "Vince Munne" <vince.munne@fpl.com>

Tracking Status: None "Dave Niebch" <david_niebch@fpl.com> Tracking Status: None "Shelley Norton" <Shelley.Norton@NOAA.gov> Tracking Status: None "SCO@dep.state.fl.us" <SCO@dep.state.fl.us> Tracking Status: None "Meghan Koperski" <Meghan.Koperski@MyFWC.com>

Tracking Status: None Post Office: web122601.mail.ne1.yahoo.com

Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 2332 3/1/2013 8:20:48 AM February 2013 Marine Turtle Captures.rtf 72747 Monthly Report Notes 2013.pdf 60909 FPL St Lucie Capture Summary 2013.pdf 110002 Power Plant Causal Turtles.pdf 118740 Options Priority: Standard Return Notification: No Reply Requested: No Sensitivity: Normal Expiration Date: Recipients Received:

MARINE TURTLE REMOVALS ST. LUCIE PLANT INTAKE CANAL FEBRUARY 2013 Date Species Note Tag #'s SMCL SSCL CSCL CMCW SMCW SMPL Weight Method (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (kg) 2/1/2013 Caretta caretta EEA206/EEA207 67.8 69.8 74.5 71.1 58.4 52.6 49.9 South net 2/3/2013 Chelonia mydas 1 982000167792670 28.5 28.8 31.3 25.3 22.7 23.8 3.0 North net 2/5/2013 Chelonia mydas EEA208/EEA209 34.2 34.6 36.7 31.5 28.1 28.2 5.5 Hand capture 2/5/2013 Chelonia mydas 2 EEA211/EEA212 47.7 47.9 51.5 47.1 38.7 39.6 15.8 Hand capture 2/5/2013 Chelonia mydas EEA213/EEA214 53.0 53.3 56.5 50.2 43.6 45.6 20.4 Hand capture 2/6/2013 Caretta caretta EEA215/EEA216 65.5 66.3 70.8 61.5 52.7 48.8 33.4 Hand capture 2/8/2013 Caretta caretta EEA217/EEA218 61.9 64.0 68.4 63.6 51.3 50.8 37.3 Hand capture 2/11/2013 Caretta caretta EEA219/EEA220 60.5 60.8 66.4 63.0 53.8 48.9 37.9 South net 2/17/2013 Caretta caretta 3 EEA221/EEA222 87.0 88.6 96.2 83.7 61.5 68.1 93.6 North net 2/17/2013 Chelonia mydas 4 EEA223/EEA224 53.3 53.5 58.1 50.6 41.0 43.5 20.8 South net 2/20/2013 Caretta caretta 5 EEA225/EEA226 108.7 109.0 117.4 104.2 80.9 76.5 174.9 South net 2/23/2013 Chelonia mydas 6 BBP244/BBP245 37.3 37.4 40.6 35.7 30.3 31.0 7.5 Hand capture 2/23/2013 Caretta caretta EEA227 57.7 59.1 63.4 57.0 48.3 46.6 26.5 Hand capture 2/24/2013 Chelonia mydas 982000167799895 27.1 27.6 30.4 24.1 22.0 22.8 2.7 North net 2/27/2013 Caretta caretta EEA228/EEA229 56.0 57.2 61.9 57.2 48.5 45.7 27.0 Dip net Date Species Note Tag #'s SMCL SSCL CSCL CMCW SMCW SMPL Weight Method (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (kg) 2/28/2013 Chelonia mydas EEA230/EEA231 39.3 39.6 42.3 36.3 31.8 33.4 6.9 North net NOTES

1.PAPILLOMAS (Tumor Score=24). Turtle is very active. Minor healed flipper damage present.

2.RECAPTURE. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on8/5/08, 5/10/11, 6/13/11, 7/25/11, 7/7/12 and 2/5/13. New inconel tags inserted on this capture event.

3.Adult female. Tail length = 220 mm.

4.RECAPTURE. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on12/16/05, 7/15/06, 8/21/06, 10/10/07, 1/11/10, 10/20/11 and 2/17/13. New inconel tags inserted today.

5.Adult male. Tail length = 505 mm.

6.REHAB (NON-CAUSAL). RECAPTURE. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 10/12/11, 4/29/12, 7/7/12, 10/20/12. Stranding# CRM130223-01. This turtle was hand captured on 2/23/13 by IRG biologists near the base of the temporary 5-inch barrier net. Animal had fishing line wrapped around head and front flippers. Picked up by Marinelife Center volunteer for transport to rehab in Juno Beach.SMCL = Straight Minimum Carapace LengthSMCL = Straight Standard Carapace LengthCSCL = Curved Standard Carapace LengthCMCW = Curved Maximum Carapace WidthSMCW = Straight Maximum Carapace WidthSMPL = Straight Midline Plastron Length Feb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateCaptures8 26 8 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 51 Causal Mortalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Non-causal Mortalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Causal Injuries 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sent to rehab 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1Fresh ScrapesFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateFeb-13 Year to DateNone2 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5Minor6 24 8 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 43Moderate0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3Severe0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Percent with mod/sev scrapes 0.0%0.0%0.0%12.0%N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A0.0%

5.9%LoggerheadsGreen turtles(Caretta caretta)(Chelonia Overall TotalsKemp's ridley(Lepidochelys (Eretmochelys (Dermochelys Hawksbills Leatherbacks 200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012*2013Injury / Mortality Totals by SpeciesTotal Captures270341538623484419227420260295302232264,437Injuries00001**301100107Mortalities10010**21000100024Total Captures321292394286428267101299161444217127253,362Injuries001037022100016Mortalities421111120312019Total Captures204201101202015Injuries00000000000000Mortalities00000000000000Total Captures102133020700019Injuries00000000000000Mortalities00000000000000Total Captures636222142321034Injuries00000000000000Mortalities000000000000005222532153513066600636944914917692330725424751521362517,867*2013 is a partial year (last updated 2/28/13 at 3:18PM EST).**The loggerhead causal injuries and mortalities in 2006 were all hatchlings.St Lucie Power Plant Causal TurtlesTotal Captures per Year Loggerhead Green LeatherbackKemp's RidleyHawksbillInjury / Mortality Yearly Totals