ML17223A630

St Lucie Unit 2 Annual Environ Operating Rept, Vol 1 1989

ML17223A630
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Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	12/31/1989
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APPLIEDBIOLOGY,INC.AB-603FLORIDAPOWER&LIGHTCOMPANYST.LUCIEUNIT2ANNUALENVIRONMENTALOPERATINGREPORTVOLUMEI19892968ANORTHDECATURROAD~---'~9g9QQ42i900501QDpcKQGQQQ389PDRADo"PDCRATLANTA,GEORGIA30033~404-296-3900 IIl AB-603FLORIDAPOWER&LIGHTCOMPANYST.LUClEUNlT2ANNUALENVIRONMENTALOPERATINGREPORT198SVOLUME1APRIL1990FLORIDAPOWER5LIGHTCOMPANYJUNOBEACH,FLORIDAAPPLIEDBIOLOGY,INC.ATLANTA,GEORGIA IIIIIII ENVIRONMENTALOPERATINGREPORTTABLEOFCONTENTSTABLEOFCONVERSIONFACTORSFORMETRICUNITSEXECUTIVESUMMARYIntroduction.TurtleNestingSurveyIntakeCanalMonitoringOtherRelatedActivitiesINTRODUCTION..Background.AreaDescription.PlantDescriptionTURTLESIntroduction..MaterialsandMethods.NestingSurvey.IntakeCanalMonitoring.StudiestoEvaluateand/orMitigateIntakeEntrapment....,.ResultsandDiscussion.NestingSurvey.DistributionofLoggerheadNestsAlongHutchinsonIsland.EstimatesofTotalLoggerheadNestingonHutchinsonIslandTemporalLoggerheadNestingPatternsPredationonLoggerheadTurtleNests.GreenandLeatherbackTurtleNesting.IntakeCanalMonitoring.RelativeAbundanceandTemporalDistributionSize-ClassDistributionsSexRatiosCaptureEfficiencies.RelativeConditionMortalities.RecaptureIncidentsSummaryLITERATURECITED.FIGURESTABLESii.Iil.iv.101014141414.19202122242427293132343637.41.4970 I

TABLEOFCONVERSIONFACTORSFORMETRICUNITSToconvertcentigrade(degrees)centigrade(degrees)centimeters(cm)centimeters(cm)centimeters/second(cm/sec)cubiccentimeters(cd)grams(g)grams(g)hectares(ha)kilograms(kg)kilograms(kg)kitograms(kg)kilometers(km)kilometers(km)liters(I)liters(I)meters(m)meters(m)meters(m)milligrams(mg)milligrams/liters(mg/I)milliliters(ml)millimeters(mm)millimeters(mm)squarecentimeters(cm)squaremeters(m)squaremillimeters(mm)MultiIb(Cx1.8)+32C+273.183.937x103.281x103.281x101.0x102.205x103.527x1024711.0x102.20463.5274x106.214x101.0x101.0x102.642x103.2813.937x101.0941.0x101.01.0x103.937x103.281x101.550x101.076x101.55x10Toobtainfahrenheit(degrees)kelvin(degrees)inchesfeetfeetpersecondliterspoundsounces(avoirdupois)'acresgramspoundsounces(avoirdupois)miles(statute)millimeterscubiccentimeters(cd)gallons(USliquid)feetinchesyardsgramspartspermillionliters(USliquid)inchesfeetsquareinchessquarefeetsquareinches I.l EXECUTIVESUMMARYINTRODUCTIONTheSt.LuciePlantisanelectricgeneratingstationonHutchinsonIslandinSt.LucieCounty,Florida.Theplantconsistsoftwonuclear-fueled850-MWunits;Unit1wasplacedon-lineinMarch1976andUnit2inMay1983.ThisdocumenthasbeenpreparedtosatisfytherequirementscontainedintheUnitedStatesNuclearRegulatoryCommission'sAppendixBEnvironmentalProtectionPlan(EPP)toSt.LucieUnit2FacilityOperatingLicenseNo.NPF-16.ThisreportdiscussesenvironmentalprotectionactivitiesrelatedtoseaturtlesasrequiredbySubsection4.2oftheEPP.OtherroutineannualreportingrequirementsareaddressedinVolume2,alsoentitled"St.LucieUnitNo.2AnnualEnvironmentalOperatingReport."TURTLENESTINGSURVEYTherehavebeenconsiderableyear-to-yearfluctuationsinseaturtlenestingactivityonHutchinsonIslandsincemonitoringbeganin1971.Lownestingactivityin1975and1981-1983inthevicinityofthepowerplantwasattributedtoconstructionofplantin-takeanddischargestructures.Nestingreturnedtonormalorabovenormallevelsfol-lowingbothperiodsofconstruction.Powerplantoperationexclusiveofconstructionhashadnosignificanteffectonnestingneartheplant.Datacollectedthrough1989haveshownnolong-termreductionsintotalnesting,totalemergencesornestingsuc-cessontheisland.Formalrequirementstoconductthisprogramexpiredin1986butwerevoluntarilycontinuedin1989withagreementfromfederalandstateagencies.

fI INTAKECANALMONITORINGSinceplantoperationbeganin1976,2,061seaturtles(including90recaptures)rep-resentingfivedifferentspecieshavebeenremovedfromtheintakecanal.Eighty-fourpercentofthesewereloggerheads.Differencesinthenumbersofturtlesfoundduringdifferentmonthsandyearswereattributedtonaturalvariationintheoccurrencesofturtlesinthevicinityoftheplant,ratherthantoanyinfluenceoftheplantitself.Themajorityofturtlesremovedfromtheintakecanal(about93percent)werecapturedalive,taggedandreleasedbackintotheocean.TurtlesconfinedbetweentheA1Abar-riernetandintakeheadwallsusuallyresidedinthecanalforarelativelyshortperiodoftime,andmostwereingoodtoexcellentconditionwhencaught.OTHERRELATEDACTIVITIESStudiestoevaluatevariouscoolingwaterintakeseaturtledeterrentsystems,asre-quiredbytheNRC'sUnit2EnvironmentalProtectionPlan,wereconductedduring1982and1983.Resultsandevaluationsofthosestudieswerepresentedtoregulatoryagen-ciesduring1984,andtherequirementisnowconsideredcompleted.

I INTRODUCTIONBACKGROUNDThisdocumenthasbeenpreparedtosatisfytherequirementscontainedintheUnitedStatesNuclearRegulatoryCommission's(NRC)AppendixBEnvironmentalProtectionPlantoSt.LucieUnit2FacilityOperatingLicenseNo.NPF-16.In1970,FloridaPower&LightCompany(FPL)wasissuedPermitNo.CPPR-74bytheUnitedStatesAtomicEnergyCommission,nowtheNuclearRegulatoryCommis-sion,thatallowedconstructionofUnit1oftheSt.LuciePlant,an850-MWnuclear-poweredelectricgeneratingstationonHutchinsonIslandinSt.LucieCounty,Florida.StLuciePlantUnit1wasplacedon-lineinMarch1976.InMay1977,FPLwasissuedPermitNo.CPPR-144bytheNRCfortheconstructionofasecond850-MWnuclear-poweredunit,Unit2wasplacedon-lineinMay1983andbegancommercialoperationinAugustofthatyear.St,LuciePlantUnits1and2usetheAtlanticOceanasasourceofwaterforonce-throughcondensercooling.Since1971,thepotentialenvironmentaleffectsresultingfromtheintakeanddischargeofthiswaterhavebeenthesubjectofFPL-sponsoredbioticstudiesatthesite.BaselineenvironmentalstudiesofthemarineenvironmentadjacenttotheSt.LuciePlantweredescribedinaseriesofreportspublishedbytheFloridaDepartmentofNaturalResources(Campetal.,1977;FutchandDwinell,1977;Gallagher,1977;Gal-lagherandHollinger,1977;WorthandHollinger,1977;MofflerandVanBreedveld, 4~~ll~

1979;TesterandSteidinger,1979;Walker,1979;Walkeretal.,1979;WalkerandSteidinger,1979).TheresultsofUnit1operationalandUnit2preoperationalbioticmonitoringattheSt.LuciePlantwerepresentedinsixannualreports(ABI,1977,1978,1979,1980a,1981b,1982).InJanuary1982,aNationalPollutantDischargeElimina-tionSystem(NPDES)permitwasissuedtoFPLbytheUSEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA).TheEPAguidelinesfortheSt.Luciesitebiologicalstudieswerebasedonthedocumententitled"ProposedSt.LuciePlantPreoperationalandOperationalBiologicalMonitoringProgram-August1981"(ABI,1981c).Findingsfromthesestudieswerereportedinthreeannualreports(ABI,1983,1984a,1985a).TheEPAbioticmonitoringrequirementsweredeletedfromtheNPDESpermitin1985.JurisdictionforseaturtlestudiesiswiththeNRC,whichisconsideredtobetheleadfederalagencyrelativetoconsultationundertheEndangeredSpeciesAct.Previousresultsdealingexclusivelywithseaturtlestudiesarecontainedinsixenvironmentaloperatingreports(ABI,1984b,1985b,1986,1987,1988,1989).Thisreportdescribesthe1989environmentalprotectionactivitiesrelatedtoseaturtles,asrequiredbySub-section4.2oftheSt.LuciePlantUnit2EnvironmentalProtectionPlan.AREADESCRIPTIONTheSt.LuciePlantislocatedona457-hasiteonHutchinsonIslandonFlorida'seastcoast(Figures1and2).TheplantisapproximatelymidwaybetweentheFt.PierceandSt.LucieInlets.ItisboundedonitseastsidebytheAtlanticOceanandonitswestsidebytheIndianRiverLagoon.

IlI HutchinsonIslandisabarrierislandthatextends36kmbetweeninletsandobtainsitsmaximumwidthof2kmattheplantsite.Elevationsapproach5matopdunesbor-deringthebeachanddecreasetosealevelinthemangroveswampsthatarecommononmuchofthewesternside.IslandvegetationistypicalofsoutheasternFloridacoas-talareas;densestandsofAustralianpine,palmetto,seagrapeandSpanishbayonetI'representatthehigheretevations,andmangrovesaboundatthelowerelevations.Largestandsofblackmangroves,includingsomeontheplantsite,havebeenkilledbyfloodingformosquitocontroloverpastdecades.TheAtlanticshorelineofHutchinsonIslandiscomposedofsandandshellhashwithintermittentrockypromontoriesprotrudingthroughthebeachfacealongthesouthernendoftheisland.Submergedcoquinoidrockformationsparallelmuchoftheislandofftheoceanbeaches.Theoceanbottomimmediatelyoffshorefromtheplantsitecon-sistsprimarilyofsandandshellsediments.Theunstablesubstratelimitstheestab-lishmentofrootedmacrophytes.TheFloridaCurrent,whichflowsparalleltothecontinentalshelfmargin,beginstodivergefromthecoastlineatWestPalmBeach.AtHutchinsonIsland,thecurrentisapproximately33kmoffshore.Oceanicwaterassociatedwiththewesternboundaryofthecurrentperiodicallymeandersovertheinnershelf,especiallyduringsummermonths.PLANTDESCRIPTIONTheSt.LuciePlantconsistsoftwo850-MWnuclear-fueledelectricgeneratingunitsthatusenearshoreoceanwatersfortheplant'sonce-throughcondensercoolingwater

.IIl system.Waterfortheplantentersthroughthreesubmergedintakestructureslocatedabout365moffshore(Figure2).Eachoftheintakestructuresisequippedwithavelocitycaptominimizefishentrainment.Horizontalintakevelocitiesarelessthan30cm/sec.Fromtheintakestructures,thewaterpassesthroughsubmergedpipes(two3.7mandone4.9mindiameter)underthebeachanddunesthatleadtoa1,500-mlongintakecanal~Thiscanaltransportsthewatertotheplant.Afterpassingthroughtheplant,theheatedwaterisdischargedintoa670-mlongcanalthatleadstotwoburieddischargepipelines.Thesepassunderneaththedunesandbeachandalongtheoceanfloortothesubmergeddischarges,thefirstofwhichisapproximately365moffshoreand730mnorthoftheintake.HeatedwaterleavesthefirstdischargelinefromaY-shapednozzle(diffuser)atadesignvelocityof396cm/sec.Thishigh-momentumjetentrainsambientwater,result-inginrapidheatdissipation.Theoceandepthintheareaofthefirstdischargeisabout6m.Heatedwaterleavestheseconddischargelinethroughaseriesof48equallyspacedhighvelocityjetsalonga323-mmanifold(multiportdiffuser)~Thisdiffuserstarts168mbeyondthefirstdischargeandterminates856mfromshore.Theoceandepthatdischargealongthisdiffuserisfromabout10to12m.Aswiththefirstdiffuser,thepurposeoftheseconddiffuseristoentrainambientwaterandrapidlydissipateheat.Fromthepointsofdischargeatbothdiffusers,thewarmerwaterrisestothesurfaceandformsasurfaceplumeofheatedwater.Theplumethenspreadsoutonthesur-faceoftheoceanundertheinfluenceofwindandcurrentsandtheheatdissipatestotheatmosphere.

il TURTLESTheNRC'sSt.LucieUnit2AppendixBEnvironmentalProtectionPlanissuedApril1983containsthefollowingtechnicalspecifications:4.2TerrestrialAvaticIsueIssuesonendangeredorthreatenedseaturtlesraisedintheUnit2FES-OL[NRC,1982]andintheEndangeredSpeciesBiologicalAs-sessment(March1982)[Bellmundetal.,1982]willbeaddressedbyprogramsasfollows:Beachnestingsurveysforallspeciesofseaturtleswillbeconductedonayearlybasisfortheperiodof1982through1986.Thesesur-veyswillbeconductedduringthenestingseasonfromap-proximatelymid-AprilthroughAugust.TheHutchinsonIslandbeachwillbedividedinto36one-km-longsurveyareas.Inaddition,thenine1.25-km-longsurveyareasusedinpreviousstudies(1971-1979)willbemaintainedforcomparisonpurposes.Surveyareaswillbemarkedwithnumberedwoodenpla-quesand/orexistinglandmarks.Theentirebeachwillbesurveyedsevendaysaweek.Allnewnestsandfalsecrawlswillbecountedandrecordedineacharea.Aftercounting,allcrawltrackswillbeobliteratedtoavoidrecounting.Predationonnestsbyraccoonsorotherpredatorswillberecordedasitoccurs.Recordswillbekeptofanyseasonalchangesinbeachtopographythatmayaffectthesuitabilityofthebeachfornesting.4.2.2Aprogramthatemployslightand/orsoundtodeterturtlesfromtheintakestructurewillbeconducted.Thestudywilldeterminewithlaboratoryandfieldexperimentsifsoundand/orlightwillresultinareductionoftotalturtleentrapmentrate.

Thestudyshallbeimplementednolaterthanafterthefinalremovalfromtheoceanofequipmentandstructuresassociatedwithcon-structionofthethirdintakestructureandtheexperimentsshallter-minate18monthslater.Fourmonthsaftertheconclusionoftheexperimentalperiod,areportontheresultsofthestudywillbesub-mittedtoNRC,EPA,NationalMarineFisheriesService(NMFS),andtheUSFishandWildlifeService(USFWS)fortheirevaluation.Ifastatisticallysignificantreductioninannualtotalturtleentrapmentrateof80percentorgreatercanbedemonstrated,usingthedevelopedtechnologyanduponFPLreceivingwrittenconcurrencebyNRC,EPA,NMFS,andUSFWSthenpermanentinstallationofthedeterrentsystemshallbecompletedandfunctioningnolaterthan18monthsaftertheagencies'oncurrence.Thedesignofthisstudyneedstotakeintoaccountthesignificantannualvariationinturtleentrapmentobservedinthepast.Ifan80percentreductionofturtleentrapmentcannotbeprojectedtoallthreeintakestructures,thenaninteragencytaskforcecom-posedofNRC,EPA,NMFS,USFWS,andFPLshallconvene18monthsaftercompletionofthethirdintakeanddetermineifothercoursesofactiontomitigateand/orreduceturtleentrapmentarewarranted(suchasphysicalbarrier,emergenceofnewtechnologyormethodstodeterturtles).4.2.3Alternativemethodsorproceduresforthecaptureofseaturtlesentrappedintheintakecanalwillbeevaluated.Ifamethodorpro-cedureisconsideredfeasibleandcosteffectiveandmayreducecapturemortalityrates,itwillbefieldtestedintheintakecanal.4.2.5CatureandReleaseProramSeaturtleremovalfromtheintakecanalwillbeconductedonacon-tinuingbasis.Theturtleswillbecapturedwithlargemeshnets,orothersuitablenondestructivedevice(s),ifdeemedappropriate.Aformalizeddailyinspection,fromtheshoreline,ofthecaptul'edevice(s)willbemadebyaqualifiedindividualwhenthedevice(s)aredeployed.Theturtleswillbeidentifiedtospecies,measured,weighed(ifappropriate),taggedandreleasedbackintotheocean.Recordsofwounds,freshorold,andasubjectivejudgementontheconditionoftheturtle(e.g.,barnaclecoverage,underweight)willbemaintained.Methodsofobtainingadditionalbiological/physiologi-caldata,suchasbloodanalysesandparasiteloads,fromcaptured 1l~~~~

seaturtleswillbepursued.Deadseaturtleswillbesubjectedtoagrossnecropsy,iffoundinfreshcondition.INTRODUCTIONHutchinsonIsland,Florida,isanimportantrookeryfortheloggerheadturtle,Caret-taoarettaandalsosupportssomenestingofthegreenturtle,~Chelnia~mdasandIRIIk9ktI,~dkIItdtdIIt1.,1999;9.1999:9I-Iagheretal.,1972;WorthandSmith,1976;Williams-Wallsetal.,1983).Allthreespeciesareprotectedbystateandfederalstatutes.Thefederalgovernmentclassifiedthelog-gerheadturtleasathreatenedspecies.TheleatherbackturtleandtheFloridanestingpopulationofthegreenturtlearelistedbythefederalgovernmentasendangeredspecies.Becauseofreductionsinworldpopulationsofmarineturtlesresultingfromcoastaldevelopmentandfishingpressure(NMFS,1978),maintainingthevitalityoftheHutchinsonIslandrookeryisimportant.IthasbeenaprimeconcernofFPLthattheconstructionandsubsequentopera-9tionoftheSt.LuciePlantwouldnotadverselyaffecttheHutchinsonIslandrookery.Becauseofthisconcern,FPLhassponsoredmonitoringofmarineturtlenestingac-tivityontheislandsince1971.Daytimesurveystoquantifynesting,aswellasnighttimeturtletaggingprograms,wereconductedinoddnumberedyearsfrom1971through1979.Duringdaytimenest-ingsurveys,nine1.25-km-longsurveyareasweremonitoredfivedaysperweek(Figure3).TheSt.LuciePlantbeganoperationin1976;therefore,thefirstthreesurveyyears(1971,1973and1975)werepreoperational.Thoughthepowerplantwasnotoperat-ingduring1975,St.LuciePlantUnitNo.1oceanintakeanddischargestructureswere

installedduringthatyear.Installationofthesestructuresincludedconstructionactivitiesconductedoffshorefromandperpendiculartothebeach.Constructionhadbeencom-pletedandtheplantwasinfulloperationduringthe1977and1979surveys.Amodifieddaytimenestingsurveywasconductedin1980duringthepreliminaryconstructionoftheoceandischargestructureforSt.LuciePlantUnit2.Duringthisstudy,fourofthepreviouslyestablished1.25-km-longsurveyareasweremonitored.Additionally,eggsfromturtlenestspotentiallyendangeredbyconstructionactivitieswererelocated.Everyyearfrom1981through1989,thirty-six1-km-longsurveyareascomprisingtheentireislandweremonitoredsevendaysaweekduringthenestingseason(Figure3).TheSt.LuciePlantUnit2dischargestructurewasinstalledduringthe1981nest-ingseason.OffshoreandbeachconstructionoftheUnit2intakestructureproceededthroughoutthe1982nestingseasonandwascompletedneartheendofthe1983season.ConstructionactivitiesassociatedwithinstallationofbothstructuresweresimilartothoseconductedwhenUnit1intakeanddischargestructureswereinstalled.Eggsfromturtlenestspotentiallyendangeredbyconstructionactivitieswererelocatedduringallthreeyears.Requirement4.2.1oftheNRC'sSt.LucieUnit2AppendixBEnvironmentalProtec-tionPlanwascompletedwithsubmissionofthe1986nestingsurveydata(ABI,1987).Thenestingsurveywascontinuedvoluntarilythrough1989withagreementfromfederalandstateagencies.Resultsarepresentedinthisreportanddiscussedinrelationtopreviousfindings.

l Inadditiontomonitoringseaturtlenestingactivitiesandrelocatingnestsawayfromplantconstructionareas,removalofturtlesfromtheintakecanalhasbeenanintegralpartoftheSt.LuciePlantenvironmentalmonitoringprogram.Turtlesenteringtheoceanintakestructuresareentrainedwithcoolingwaterandrapidlytransportedthroughtheintakepipesintoanenclosedcanalsystemwheretheymustbemanuallycapturedand-returnedtotheocean.Sincetheplantbecameoperationalin1976,turtlesentrappedintheintakecanalhavebeensystematicallycaptured,measured,weighed,taggedandreleased.Previouspublicationsandtechnicalreportshavepresentedfindingsofthenestingsurveys,nestrelocationactivitiesandcanalcaptureprogram(Gallagheretal.,1972;WorthandSmith,1976;ABI,1978,1980a,1981a,1982,1983,1984b,1985b,1986,1987,1988,1989;Williams-Wallsetal.,1983;Proffittetal.,1986;Ernestetal.,1988,1989;Martinetal.,1989a,1989b;O'araandWilcox,inpress).Resultsofstudiestoassesstheeffectsofthermaldischargesonhatchlingswimmingspeedhavealsobeenreported(ABI,1978;O'ara,1980).Thepurposeofthisreportisto1)present1989seaturtlenestingsurveydataandsummarizeobservedspatialandtemporalnestingpatternssince1971,2)documentandsummarizepredationonturtlenestssince1971,and3)present1989canalcapturedataandsummarizecomparabledatacollectedsince1976.

MATERIALSANDMETHODSNestinSurveMethodologiesusedduringpreviousturtlenestingsurveysonHutchinsonIslandweredescribedbyGallagheretal.(1972),WorthandSmith(1976)andABI(1978,1981a,1982,1987,1988,1989).Methodsusedduringthe1989surveyweredesignedtoallowcomparisonswiththesepreviousstudies.On10and13April1989,preliminarynestsurveyswereconductedalongHutchin-sonIslandfromtheFt.PierceInletsouthtotheSt.LucieInlet.From17Aprilthrough8September,nestsurveyswereconductedonadailybasis.After8September,severaladditionalsurveyswereconductedtoconfirmthatnestinghadceased,thelastsurveybeingconductedon15September.Biqlogistsusedsmalloff-roadmotorcyclestosur-veytheislandeachmorning.Newnests,non-nestingemergences(falsecrawls),andnestsdestroyedbypredatorswererecordedforeachofthethirty-six1-km-longsur-veyareascomprisingtheentireisland(Figure3)~Thenine1.25-km-longsurveyareasestablishedbyGallagheretal.(1972)also'weremonitoredsocomparisonscouldbemadewithpreviousstudies.Duringthedailynestmonitoring,anymajorchangesintopographythatmayhaveaffectedthebeach'ssuitabilityfornestingwererecorded.Inaddition,eachofthethir-ty-six1-km-longsurveyareashasbeensystematicallyanalyzedandcategorizedbasedonbeachslope(steep,moderate,etc.),widthfromhightidelinetothedune,presenceofbenches(areasofabruptverticalrelief)andmiscellaneouscharacteristics(packed10 I

sand,scatteredrock,vegetationonthebeach,exposedrootsontheprimarydune,etc.).Inacooperativeeffort,datafromstrandedturtlesfoundduringbeachsurveyswereroutinelyprovidedtotheNationalMarineFisheriesServicethroughtheSeaTurtleStrandingandSalvageNetwork.IntakeCanalMonitorinMostturtlesentrappedintheSt.LuciePlantintakecanalwereremovedbymeansoflarge-meshtanglenetsfishedbetweentheintakeheadwallsandabarriernetlocatedattheHighwayA1Abridge(Figure2).Netsusedduring1989werefrom30to40minlength,3to4mdeepandcomposedof40cmstretchmeshnylontwine.Largefloatswereattachedtothesurface,andunweightedlinesusedaiongthebottom.Turtlesen-tangledinthenetsgenerallyremainedatthewater'ssurfaceuntilremoved.TurtlenetswereusuallydeployedonMondaymorningsandretrievedonFridayafternoons.Duringperiodsofdeployment,thenetswereinspectedforcapturesbyABIpersonnelatleasttwiceeachday(morningsandafternoons).Additionally,St.LuciePlantpersonnelcheckedthenetsperiodically,andABIwasnotifiedimmediatelyifacapturewasobserved.ABI'sseaturtlespecialistswereoncall24hoursadaytoretrievecapturedturtlesfromtheplant.TheA1Abarriernetisusedtoconfineturtlestotheeasternmostsectionofthein-takecanal,wherecapturetechniqueshavebeenmosteffective.Thisnetisconstructedoflargediameterpolypropyleneropeandhasameshsizeof30.5cm.Acableisused

tokeepthetopofthenetabovethewater'ssurfaceandthebottomisanchoredbyaseriesofheavyblocks.Thenetisinclinedataslopeof3:1,withthebottompositionedupstreamofthesurfacecable.Thisreducesbowinginthecenterandminimizestheriskofaweakorinjuredturtlebeingpinnedagainstitbycurrents.Occasionally,theintegrityofthebarriernethasbeencompromised,andturtleshavebeenabletomovewestofA1A.Theseturtlesarefurtherconstraineddownstreambyasecurityintrusionbarrierpositionedperpendiculartothenorth-southarmofthecanal(Figure2)~Thesecuritybarrieralsoconsistsof30.5cmmesh,butthenetiscon-structedofheavychainlinksratherthanrope.PriortothecompletionofthesecurityintrusionbarrierinDecember1986,turtlesuncontainedbytheA1AbarriernetwereusuallyremovedfromthecanalattheintakewellsofUnits1and2(Figure2).Theretheywereretrievedbymeansoflargemechani-calrakesorspeciallydesignednets.Followingconstructionofthesecurityintrusionbarrier,onlythoseindividualswithcarapacewidthslessthan30.5cmwereabletoreachtheintakewells.Thus,asrequired,tanglenetsweresetwestofA1Atocaptureturtleslargerthan30.5cm.InadditiontoABI'snettingactivities,formaldailyinspectionsoftheintakecanalweremadetodeterminethenumbers,locationsandspeciesofturtlespresent.Oc-casionally,turtleswereobservedinareaswheretheycouldbehandcaptured.SurfaceobservationswereaugmentedwithperiodicunderwaterinspectionsusingSCUBA,particularlyinandaroundtheA1Abarriernetandsecurityintrusionbarrier.Severalturtleswerehandcapturedduringthesedives.12

~i~~~~gifigi Regardlessofcapturemethod,allturtlesremovedfromthecanalwereidentiTiedtospecies,measured,weighed,tagged,andexaminedforoverallcondition(wounds,abnormalities,parasites,etc.).Healthyturtleswerereleasedbackintotheoceanthesamedayofcapture.Sickorinjuredturtlesweretreatedandoccasionallyheldforob-servationpriortorelease.Whentreatmentwaswarranted,injectionsofantibioticsandvitaminswereadministeredbyalocalveterinarian.Resuscitationtechniqueswereusedifaturtlewasfoundthatappearedtohavediedrecently.Beginningin1982,necrop-sieswereconductedondeadturtlesfoundinfreshcondition;nonecropsieswereper-formedduring1989.Since1982,bloodsampleshavebeencollectedandanalyzedtodeterminethesexofimmatureturtles.Bloodwasremovedfromthepaireddorsalcervicalsinusesofsub-jectturtlesusingthetechniquedescribedbyOwensandRuiz(1980).Thesamplesweremaintainedoniceandlatercentrifugedfor15minutestoseparatecellsandserum.SexdeterminationsweresubsequentlymadebyresearchersatTexasA8MUniver-sityusingradioimmunoassayforserumtestosterone(Owensetal.,1978).FloridaPower&LightCompanyandAppliedBiology;Inc.continuedtoassistotherseaturtleresearchersin1989.Data,specimensand/orassistancehavebeengiventotheFloridaDepartmentofNaturalResources,NationalMarineFisheriesService,USFishandWildlifeService,USArmyCorpsofEngineers,SmithsonianInstitution,SouthCarolinaWildlifeandMarineResourcesDivision,CenterforSeaTurtleResearch(UniversityofFlorida),TexasA8MUniversity,UniversityofRhodeIsland,UniversityofSouthCarolina,UniversityofIllinois,UniversityofCentralFlorida,UniversityofGeor-gia,VirginiaInstituteofMarineScienceandtheWesternAtlanticTurtleSymposium.13 i~!I5ttl StudiestEvaluateandorMitiateIntakeEntramentAprogramthatassessedthefeasibilityofusinglightand/orsoundtodeterturtlesfromenteringtheSt.LuciePlantintakestructureswasconductedin1982and1983andcompletedinJanuary1984.Asrequired,testresultsandevaluationswerewrittenupandapresentationwasmadetotheNRC,NationalMarineFisheriesServiceandtheFloridaDepartmentofNaturalResourceson11April1984.Requirement4.2.2oftheNRC'sSt.LucieUnit2AppendixBEnvironmentalProtectionPlanisconsideredcompletedwithsubmissionofdeterrentstudyfindings.RESULTSANDDISCUSSIONNestinSurveDistributionofLoerheadNstAlnHutchinsonIslandWhenseaturtlenestingsurveysbeganonHutchinsonIsland,nine1.25-km-longsurveyareaswereusedtoestimateloggerheadnestingactivityfortheentireisland.Since1981,all361-km-longsegmentscomprisingtheisland'scoastlinehavebeensurveyed.Regardlessoftechnique,loggerheadnestdensitieshaveshowncon-siderableannualvariationwithinindividualsurveyareas(Figures4and5).Yet,theannualspatialdistributionofthosenestsamongsurveyareashasproducedaratheruniformgradient,nestdensitiesconsistentlyincreasingfromnorthtosouth(ABI,1987).Thegradientappearstobelinearwhenonlythenine1.25-km-longsurveyareasareused(Figure4),butbecomesnon-linearwhenall361-km-longsurveyareasarein-cludedintheanalysis(Figure5).During1989thedistributionofloggerheadnestsalong14

theislandfollowedthesamegeneralpatternaspreviouslyreported,nestdensitiesin-creasingabruptlyfromnorthtosouthalongthenorthernportionoftheisland,reach-ingmaximumdensitiesincentralsurveyareasandthendecreasingslightlytowardthesouthernportionoftheisland(I=igure5).Inthepast,thepronouncedgradientobservedonthenorthernendoftheislandwasoccasionallyinfluencedbyphysicalprocessesoccurringthere;periodsofheavyaccretionreducedthegradient,whileperiodsoferosionaccentuatedit(WorthandSmith,1976;Williams-Wallsetal.,1983).However,duringrecentyearsnoconsistentrelationshipwasapparentwhenfieldobservationsofbeachwidthswerecomparedtothespatialdistributionofnestsalongtheisland(ABI,1987).Thus,eventhoughbeachdynamicsmaysometimesaffecttheselectionofnestingsitesbyloggerheadturtles,otherfactorsmustalsocontributetotheselectionprocess.Offshorebottomcontours,spatialdistributionofnearshorereefs,typeandextentofdunevegetation,anddegreeofhumanactivityonthebeachatnighthavebeenidentifiedassomeofthefactorsaf-fectingnesting(Caldwell,1962;HendricksonandBalasingam,1966;Bustard,1968;BustardandGreenham,1968;Hughes,1974;DavisandWhiting,1977;Mortimer,1982).Relationshipsbetweenspatialnestingpatternsandspecificenvironmentalcon-ditionsareoftendifficulttoestablishbecauseoftheinterrelationshipofthefactorsin-volved.Notallventuresontothebeachbyafemaleturtleculminateinsuccessfulnests.These'Valsecrawls"(non-nestingemergences)mayoccurformanyreasonsandarecommonlyencounteredatotherrookeries(BaldwinandLofton,1959;Schulz,1975;DavisandWhiting,1977;Talbertetal.,1980;Raymond,1984).DavisandWhiting15 l

(1977)suggestedthatrelativelyhighpercentagesoffalsecrawlsmayreflectdisturban-cesorunsatisfactorynestingbeachcharacteristics.Therefore,certainfactorsmayaf-fectaturtle'spreferencetoemergeonabeach,whileotherfactorsmayaffectaturtle'tendencytonestafterithasemerged.Anindexwhichrelatesthenumberofneststothenumberoffalsecrawlsinanareaisusefulinestimatingthepost-emergencesuitabilityofabeachfornesting.Inthepresentstudythisindexistermed"nestingsuc-cess"andisdefinedasthepercentageoftotalemergencesthatresultinnests.Historically,thepatternofloggerheademergencesontheislandhasgenerallyparal-leledthedistributionofnests(ABI,1987,1988),andthissametrendwasapparentin1989(Figure6).Incontrast,nestingsuccessbyloggerheadsalongtheislandhastypi-callylackedgradients(Figure7).Thus,therelativelyhighnumbersofloggerheadnestsusuallyobservedalongthesouthernhalfoftheislandhaveresultedprimarilyfrommoreturtlescomingashoreinthatarearatherthanfrommorepreferablenestingconditionsbeingencounteredbytheturtlesaftertheyemerged.Hughes(1974)andBustard(1968)foundthatloggerheadspreferredbeachesad-jacenttooutcropsofrocksorsubtidalreefs.Williams-Wallsetal.(1983)suggestedthatthenestinggradientonHutchinsonIslandmaybeinfluencedbytheoffshorereefsiffemaleturtlesconcentrateonthereefsclosesttothebeachtorestorfeed,Theproximityofoffshorereefswouldputthegreatestconcentrationofturtlesnearthesouthernhalfoftheislandwherecoincidentallynestingishighest.Loggerheadnestingdensitiesduring1989weregenerallywithintherangeofvaluespreviouslyrecorded(Figures4and5).Themostconspicuousexceptionsoccurredon16 I

thenorthernhalfoftheislandwherenestingwasrelativelyhighcomparedtopreviousyears.Therewerenoapparentchangesinthephysicalcharacteristicsofthebeachthatwouldaccountforthisincreaseinnesting,Rather,itmayberelatedtoadecreaseinhumanactivityonthebeachatnight.Historically,nighttimevehicleuseofthebeacheshasbeenextensiveonthenorthernhalfoftheisland.However,betweenthe1988and1989nestingseasons,successfulblockageofmanyaccesspointsresultedinafortypercentreductioninthisactivity.Ifthelights,movementsandnoiseassociatedwithoff-roadvehiclespreviouslydeterredturtlesfromemergingtonest(seeHendrickson,1958),areductioninvehicleuseduring1989wouldaccountforrecordhighemergenceandnestingratesonthenorthernhalfoftheisland(Figures5and6).RelativelylownestinginAreaFsuggeststhatfactorsotherthanvehicletrafficcon-tinuedtodeterturtlesfromnestinginthatarea.Aspreviouslyreported(ABI,1988,1989),reducednestinginAreaFmayberelatedtotheremovalofbeachfrontvegeta-tionpriortothe1987nestingseason.Additionally,extensiveaccumulationsofshellandrockmaterialalongthissectionofbeachduring1989mayhavedeterredturtlesfromnestingaftertheyemergedandmayexplaintherecordlownestingsuccessinthisarea(Figure7).RecordlownestingsuccesswasalsodocumentedinAreaL.ThemostnotablechangeinthissectionofbeachwasanincreaseinthenumberofdeadAustralianpinesthathadfallenonthebeachsincetheendofthe1988nestingseason.Thesefallentreesactasobstaclestoturtlesastheycrawlupthebeachtonest,Whenaturtleen-counterssuchanobstacle,itusuallyreturnstotheoceanwithoutnesting.17 I

Onthesouthernhalfoftheisland,loggerheadnestingwaswithintherangeofpre-viouslyrecordedvaluesinallbutonearea(AreaE@.RecordlownestinginAreaEEduring1989wasapparentlyattributabletoconditionsencounteredbyturtlesaftertheyemergedsincethenumberofemergenceswerenotlowwhencomparedtopreviousyears.Thisisconfirmedbytherecordlownestingsuccessinthisareaduring1989.Beachconditionswhichwouldaccountforsuchadecreaseinnestingsuccesscouldnotbeidentified;however,humanactivityonthebeachcannotberuledoutsincethisareaisbackedbyalargeresortandapublicbeach.NestingsurveysonHutchinsonIslandwereinitiatedinresponsetoconcernsthattheoperationoftheSt.LuciePlantmightnegativelyimpactthelocalseaturtlerookery.Previousanalysis,usinglog-likelihoodtestsofindependence(G-test;SokalandRohlf,1981)demonstratedthattheconstructionoftheplant'soffshoreintakeanddischargestructuressignificantlyreducednestingattheplantsiteduringconstructionyears-1975,1981,1982and1983(Proffittetal.,1986;ABI,1987).However,nestingattheplantconsistentlyreturnedtolevelssimilartoorgreaterthanthoseatacontrolsiteinyearsfollowingconstruction(Figure8).Thus,powerplantoperationexclusiveofin-take/dischargeconstructionhadnoapparenteffectonnesting.Datacollectedthrough1989haveshownnolong-termreductioninloggerheadnestdensities,totalemergencesornestingsuccessineitherthenine1.25-km-longsurveyareasorthe361-km-longsurveyareas(Table1;Figure9).18 III EstimatesofTotalLoerheadNetinonHutchinsonIslandVariousmethodswereusedduringsurveyspriorto1981toestimatethetotalnum-berofloggerheadnestsonHutchinsonIslandbasedonthenumberofnestsfoundinthenine1.25-km-longsurveyareas(Gallagheretal.,1972;WorthandSmith,1976;ABI,1980a).Eachofthesemethodsweresubsequentlyfoundtoconsistentlyoveres-timateislandtotals(ABI,1987).Sincewhole-islandsurveysbeganin1981,ithasbeenpossibletodeterminetheactualproportionoftotalnestsdepositedinthenineareas.Thishasthenallowedextrapolationfromtheninesurveyareastotheentireislandforyearspriorto1981.From1981through1989thetotalnumberofnestsinthenineareasvariedfrom33.1to35.6percentofthetotalnumberofnestsontheisland(Table1).Thisisslight-lyhigherthanthe31.3percentwhichwouldbeexpectedbasedstrictlyonthepropor-tionoflinearcoastlinecomprisedbythenineareas.Usingthenine-yearmeanof34.0percent,estimatesofthetotalnumberofnestsonHutchinsonIslandcanbecalculatedbymultiplyingthenumberofnestsinthenineareasby2.94.Thistechnique,whenap-pliedtotheninesurveyareasduringthenineyearsinwhichtheentireislandwassur-veyed,producedwhole-islandestimateswithinfivepercentoftheactualnumberofnestscounted.Becausetheproportionofnestsrecordedintheninesurveyareasremainedrelativelyconstantoverthelastnineyears,thisextrapolationprocedureshouldprovideafairlyaccurateestimateoftotalloggerheadnestingforyearspriorto1981.

I ItisclearthatloggerheadnestingactivityonHutchinsonIslandfluctuatescon-siderablyfromyeartoyear(Table1).Annualvariationsinnestdensitiesalsoarecom-monatotherrookeries(Hughes,1976;DavisandWhiting,1977;Ehrhart,1980)andmayresultfromtheoverlappingofnon-annualbreedingpopulations.Duringthelasteightyears,however,annualnestproductionhasremainedrelativelyhigh.Totalnest-ingactivitywasgreatestduring1986when5,483loggerheadnestswererecordedontheisland.During1989,5,193nestswerecounted.Norelationshipsbetweentotal-nestingactivityandpowerplantoperationorintake/dischargeconstructionwereindi-catedbyyear-to-yearvariationsintotalnestingonHutchinsonIsland.TemoralLoerheadNestinPatternsTheloggerheadturtlenestingseasonusuallybeginsbetweenmid-AprilandearlyMay,attainsamaximumduringJuneorJuly,andendsbylateAugustorearlySep-tember(ABI,1987).Nestingactivityduring1989followedthissamepattern(Figure10).CoolwaterintrusionsfrequentlyoccuroverthecontinentalshelfofsoutheastFloridaduringthesummer(TaylorandStewart,1958;Smith,1982).WorthandSmith(1976),Williams-Wallsetal.(1983)andABI(1982,1983,1984b,1985b,1986,1987,1988,1989)suggestedthattheseintrusionsmayhavebeenresponsibleforthetemporarydeclinesinloggerheadturtlenestingactivitypreviouslyobservedonHutchinsonIsland.Similarly,asubstantialdecreaseinnestingduringmid-June1989wasapparentlyduetoanintrusionofcoolwater(Figure10).20

Thoughnaturalfluctuationsintemperaturehavebeenshowntoaffecttemporalnest-ingpatternsonHutchinsonIsland,therehasbeennoindicationthatpowerplantopera-tionhasaffectedthesetemporalpatterns(ABI,1988)~PrdationonLorhaTrtleNestsSincenestsurveysbeganin1971,raccoonpredationprobablyhasbeenthemajorcauseofturtlenestdestructiononHutchinsonIsland.Researchersatotherlocationshavereportedraccoonpredationlevelsashighas70tonearly100percent(DavisandWhiting,1977;Ehrhart,1979;Hopkinsetal.,1979;Talbertetal.,1980).Raccoonpreda-tionofloggerheadturtlenestsonHutchinsonIslandhasnotapproachedthislevelduringanystudyyear,thoughlevelsforindividual1.25-km-longareashavebeenashighas80percent.Overallpredationratesforsurveyyears1971through1977werebetween21and44percent,withahighof44percentrecordedin1973.Apronounceddecreaseinraccoonpredationoccurredafter1977,andoverallpredationratesforthenineareashavenotexceeded10percentsince1979.AdeclineinpredationratesonHutchinsonIslandhasbeenvariouslyattributedtotrappingprograms,constructionactivities,habitatlossanddisease(Williams-Wallsetal.,1983;ABI,1987).During1989,eightpercent(423)oftheloggerheadnests(n=5,193)ontheislandweredepredatedbyraccoons.Asinpreviousyears(ABI,1989),predationofturtlenestswasprimarilyrestrictedtothemostundevelopedportionoftheisland(i.e.,AreasEthroughS;Figure11).Ghostcrabshavebeenreportedbynumerousresearchersasimportantpredatorsofseaturtlenests(BaldwinandLofton,1959;Schulz,1975;Diamond,1976;Fowler,21

1979;Hopkinsetal~,1979;Stancyk,1982).ThoughturtlenestsonHutchinsonIslandprobablyhavebeendepredatedbyghostcrabssincenestingsurveysbeganin1971,thissourceofnestdestructiondidnotbecomeapparentuntil1983.Quantificationofghostcrabpredationwasinitiatedthesameyear.Overallpredationratesbyghostcrabshavevariedfrom0.2to2.1percentfrom1983-1988(ABI,1989).During1989,0.1percent(6)oftheloggerheadnests(n=5,193)ontheislandweredestroyedbyghostcrabs(Figure11).Nestsdestroyedbyacombinationofraccoonandghostcrabpredationhavebeenincludedasraccoonpredationsinpreviousdiscussions.Whenthesecombinationpredationsareincludedascrabpredations,theoverallpredationratesbyghostcrabsrangefrom0.4to3.2percent.During1989,0.4percent(23nests)weredestroyedbyeitherghostcrabsoracombinationofghostcrabsandraccoons.GreenandLeatherbackTurtleNestinGreenandleatherbackturtlesalsonestonHutchinsonIsland,butinfewernumbersthanloggerheadturtles.Priorto1981,bothsurvey(nine1.25-km-longsections)andinter-surveyareasweremonitoredforthepresenceofgreenandleatherbacknests.Thirty-onekilometersofbeachfromArea1southtotheSt.LucieInletwereincludedinthateffort.Duringwhole-islandsurveysfrom1981through1989,onlytwoof170leatherbacknestsandonlyfiveof469greennestswererecordedonthefivekilometersofbeachnorthofArea1.Therefore,previouscountsofgreenandleatherbacknestswithinthe31kilometerssurveyedwereprobablynotappreciablydifferentfromtotaldensitiesfortheentireisland.Basedonthisassumption,greenandleatherbacknest22

densitiesmaybecomparedamongallsurveyyears,except1980,whenlessthan15kilometersofbeachweresurveyed.Priorto1989,thenumberofnestsobservedontheislandrangedfrom5to74forgreenturtlesandfrom1to33forleatherbacks(Figure12).Duringthe1989survey,45greenturtleand36leatherbackturtlenestswererecordedonHutchinsonIsland.Temporalnestingpatternsforthesespeciesdifferfromthepatternforloggerheadturtles.GreenturtlestypicallynestonHutchinsonIslandfrommid-JunethroughthefirstorsecondweekofSeptember.During1989,greenturtlesnestedfrom15Junethrough23September.Leatherbackturtlesusuallynestontheislandfrommid-Aprilthroughearlytomid-July.During1989thisspeciesnestedfrom30Marchthrough17July.0Considerablefluctuationsingreenturtlenestingontheisland.haveoccurredamongsurveyyears(Figure12).Thisisnotunusualsincetherearedrasticyear-to-yearfluc-tuationsinthenumbersofgreenturtlesnestingatotherbreedinggrounds(Carretal.,1982).Despitethesefluctuations,greenturtlenestinghasremainedrelativelyhighduringthelasteightyears(1982through1989)andmayreflectanincreaseinthenum-berofnestingfemalesintheHutchinsonIslandarea.During1989,greenturtlesnestedmostfrequentlyalongthesouthernhalfoftheisland.Thisisconsistentwithresultsofprevioussurveys.LeatherbackturtlenestdensitieshaveremainedlowonHutchinsonIsland;however,increasednestingduringrecentyears(Figure12)mayreflectanoverallincreaseinthe23

numberofnestingfemalesintheHutchinsonIslandarea.During1989,leatherbackturtlesprimarilynestedonthesouthernhalfoftheisland.IntakeCanalMonitorinEntrainmentofseaturtlesattheSt.LuciePlanthasbeenattributedtothepresumedphysicalattractivenessoftheoffshorestructureshousingtheintakepipesratherthantoplantoperatingcharacteristics(ABI,1980band1986).Evenwhenbothunitsareoperatingatfullcapacity,turtlesmustactivelyswimintothemouthofoneoftheintakepipesbeforetheyencountercurrentvelocitiessufficientlystrongtoeffectentrainment.Consequently,aturtle'sentrapmentrelatesprimarilytotheprobabilitythatitwilldetectandsubsequentlyenteroneoftheintakestructures.Assumingthatdetectiondistan-cesdonotvaryappreciablyovertimeandthatallturtles(oraconstantproportion)areequallyattractedtothestructures,capturerateswillvaryproportionallytothenumberofturtlesoccurringinthevicinityofthestructures.Ifthisassumptionistrue,datafromthecanalcaptureprogramshouldreflectnaturalvariabilityinthestructureofthepopula-tionbeingsampled.RelativeAbundanceandTemoralDistributionDuring1989,133seaturtlecapturestookplaceintheintakecanaloftheSt.LuciePlant(Table2).AllfivespeciesofseaturtlesoccurringincoastalwatersofthesoutheasternUnitedStateswererepresentedinthecatches,including111logger-heads,17greens,1leatherback,2hawksbillsand2Kemp'sridleys.SinceintakecanalmonitoringbeganinMay1976,1,741loggerhead(including89recaptures),286green24

(including1recapture),9leatherback,8hawksbilland17Kemp'sridleycaptureshavebeenreportedfromtheSt,LuciePlant.Annualcatchesofloggerheadsincreasedsteadilyfromalowof33in1976(partialyearofplantoperationandmonitoring)to172in1979(Figure13).Afterdecliningbe-tween1979and1981,yearlycatchesofloggerheadsagainrosesteadily,reachingahighof195during1986.Captureshavebeenindeclinesince1986,decreasingover40percentduringthelastthreeyears.TwooffshoreintakestructureswereinplacepriortoUnit1start-upin1976;thethirdandlargeststructurewasinstalledduring1982-1983.Eventhoughallthreestructuresareinrelativelycloseproximity,theadditionofanotherpipemayhaveincreasedtheprobabilityofaturtlebeingentrained.Becausethischangecannotbequantified,datacollectedpriorto1982maynotbecomparablewiththatcollectedafter1983.'Addition-ally,theinfluenceoftheconstructionitselfonseaturtleentrainmentduring1982and1983isunknown.Withtheseconsiderationsinmind,neitheralong-termincreasenordecreaseinthenumberofloggerheadscapturedattheSt.LuciePlantcanbeinferredfromthedata.During1989,themonthlycatchofloggerheadsrangedfrom2(SeptemberandDecember)to21(July),withamonthlymeanof9.3(+6.4;Table3).ThenumberofcapturesbetweenAprilandAugustwereaverageoraboveaverage,whilecapturesthroughouttheremainderoftheyearweregenerallylowerthanaverage(Figure14).Overtheentiremonitoringperiod,monthlycatcheshaverangedfrom0to39;thegreatestnumberofcapturesoccurredduringJanuary1983.25

~~~S

)4Whendatafromallfullyearsofmonitoring(1977-1989)werecombined,thehighestnumberofloggerheadcapturesoccurredinJanuary(12.5percent);fewestcaptureswererecordedinNovemberandDecember(Table3).However,monthlycatcheshaveshownconsiderableannualvariability.Monthshavingrelativelylowcatchesoneyearoftenhavehadrelativelyhighcatchesinanother.Catchesofgreenturtlesalsohavevariedwidelyamongyears,rangingfrom0in1976(partialyearofsampling)to69in1984(Table4).During1989,17individualswerecaptured.Theaverageannualcatchofgreenturtles,excluding1976,was22.0(+18.7).Althoughhighlyvariable,annualcapturedataforgreenturtlessuggestalong-termin-creaseinthenumberofindividualsinhabitingthenearshorecoastalareaadjacenttotheplant(Figure13).Again,however,theinfluenceoftheadditionofathirdintakepipein1982onthesedataisnotknown.Greenturtleshavebeencaughtduringeverymonthoftheyear,withaveragemonth-lycatchesforallyearscombinedrangingfrom0.4inSeptemberto7.2inJanuary(Table4).However,seasonalabundancepatternsofgreensaremuchmorepronouncedthanforloggerheads,about80percentofallcapturesoccurringbetweenNovemberandApril.During1989,thelargestnumberofgreens(6)werecapturedinMarch.Themostgreensevercaughtinonemonthwas37inJanuary1984.Catchesofleatherbacks,hawksbillsandKemp'sridleyshavebeeninfrequentandscatteredthroughoutthe14yearstudyperiod(Table2).Eachspecieshasshownrather'pronouncedseasonaloccurrences;allbuttwoofthenineleatherbackswerecollectedbetweenFebruaryandMay,sevenoftheeighthawksbillswerecollected26 4

betweenJuneandSeptember,andallbuttwoofthe17Kemp'sridleyswerecaughtbetweenNovemberandApril~iz-ClasDistribtinAlthoughseveralstraight-lineandcurvedmeasurementswererecordedforturtlesremovedfromtheintakecanal,onlyonestraight-linemeasurementhasbeenusedinanalysespresentedhere.Straight-linecarapacelength(SLCL)wasmeasuredfromtheprecentralscutetothenotchbetweenthepostcentralscutes(minimumcarapacelengthofPritchardetal.,1983).Todate,loggerheadsremovedfromtheintakecanalhaverangedinlength(SLCL)from40.4to112.0cm(x=66.3+13.3cm)andinweightfrom10.9kgto160.6kg(Figures15and16).About71percentofallloggerheadscapturedwere70cmorlessinlengthandweighedlessthan50kilograms.Acarapacelengthof70cmapproximatesthesmallestsizeofnestingloggerheadfemalesobservedalongtheAtlanticeastcoast(Hirth,1980).However,adultscanonlybereliablysexedonexternalmorphologicalcharacteristics(e.g.,relativetaillength)afterobtainingalengthofabout80cm.Basedonthesedivisions,dataweresegregatedintothreegroups:juvenile/sub-adults(<70cm;thedemarcationbetweenthesetwocomponentsisnotwellestablishedintheliterature),adults(>80cm)andtransitional(70-80cm).Thelattergroupprobablyincludessomematureandsomeimmaturein-dividuals.Ofthe1,666capturesforwhichlengthdatawerecollected,71percentwerejuveniles/sub-adults,themajorityofthesemeasuringbetween50and70cmSLCL(Table5).Adultsaccountedforabout18percentofallcaptures,theremaining1127

~fj~~~~~(gv percentcomprisedofanimalsinthetransitionalsizeclass.Similarsize-frequencydis-tributions,indicatingapreponderanceofjuveniles,havebeenreportedfortheMosquito/IndianRiverLagoon(MendoncaandEhrhart,1982),theCanaveralshipchannel(Henwood,1987),andGeorgiaandSouthCarolina(Hillestadetal.,1982).ThesedatasuggestthatcoastalwatersofthesoutheasternUnitedStatesconstituteanimportantdevelopmentalhabitatforQgr~ett.~gargtta.Seasonalpatternsofabundanceforvarioussizeclassesindicatedthatjuvenilesandsub-adultloggerheadswereslightlymoreabundantduringthewinterthanatothertimesoftheyear(Table5).About36percentofjuvenile/sub-adultloggerheadswerecapturedbetweenJanuaryandMarch.AbundancesdecreasedinspringandremainedrelativelyconstantduringthesummerandearlyfallbeforedecreasingagaintolowestlevelsinNovemberandDecember.Theseasonaldistributionofadultloggerheadswasmuchmorepronounced,58percentofallcapturesoccurringbetweenJuneandAugust.ThisrepresentstheperiodofpeaknestingonHutchinsonIsland.Ifothernest-ingmonthsareincluded(MayandSeptember),75percentofalladultswerecapturedduringthenestingseason.Greenturtlesremovedfromtheintakecanalovertheentirestudyperiodrangedinsizefrom20to108cmSLCL(x=35.8+14.4cm)and0.9kgto177.8kg(Figures17and18).Nearlyall(96percent)werejuvenilesorsub-adults.About80percentwere40cmorlessinlength,and67percentweighed5kilogramsorless.Theseimmatureturtlesexhibiteddistinctwinterpulsessuggestingmigratorybehavior(Table4).However,someimmaturegreenturtleswerepresentthroughouttheyear.Todate,onlyeightadultgreenturtles(SLCL>83cm;WitheringtonandEhrhart,1989)have28

~~~~~(j~~~~(5~~

beenremovedfromthecanal;allwerecapturedduringorshortlyafterthenestingseason.Theeighthawksbillsremovedfromthecanalrangedinsizefrom34.0to70.0cmSLCL(x=46.2+12.9cm)andinweightfrom6.4to52.2kg(x=17.3+16.6kg).Allbutonewerejuveniles(SLCL(63cm;Witzell,1983).Similarly,allbutoneofthe17Kemp'sridleyscapturedattheSt.LuciePlantwerejuveniles(SLCL(60.0cm;Hirth,1980).Carapacelengthsfortheridleysrangedfrom27.0to62.0cmSLCL(x=36.1+9.7cm)andweightsfrom3.2to31.8kg(x=8.0+8.1kg).Thenineleatherbacksremovedfromthecanalrangedinlengthfrom112.5to150.0cm,andatleastsevenwereadults(SLCL)121cm;Hirth,1980).Thelargestleatherbackforwhichanac-curateweightwasobtained,afemalewithacurvedcarapacelengthof158.5cm,weighed334.8kg.SexRatiosSinceintakecanalmonitoringbeganin1976,297adultloggerheadshavebeensexed.Thesmallestwas75.5cminlengthandwasobservednestingonHutchinsonIslandshortlyafterhercaptureinthecanal.Femalespredominatedmalesbyaratioof5.6:1.0,whichsignificantlydepartsfroma1:1ratio(X,P(0.05).Consequently,tem-poralpatternsinthenumberofadultloggerheadcapturesareheavilyinfluencedbythenumbersoffemalespresent.Whensexeswereseparated,itisevidentthatmaleswererelativelyevenlydistributedamongmonths,whereasover80percentofthefemalesweretakenduringthenestingseason(MaythroughSeptember;Figure19).29 4~(gl4l ThenumberofadultfemaleloggerheadscapturedattheSt.LuciePlanthasin-creasedsteadilyoverthelastsevenyears.Priorto1983,anaverageof6.5adultfemales(+3.8;range=1-12)wereentrappedeachyear,whereassincethen,anaverageof30.1femalesperyear(+11.6;range=12-45)werecaptured.Thisincreasecor-respondstoageneralriseinloggerheadnestingactivityneartheplant(Figure20).In-creasednearshoremovementassociatedwithnestingincreasestheprobabilityofaturtledetectingoneoftheintakestructuresandhencetheprobabilityofentrainment.Althoughtheadditionofthethirdoffshoreintakestructurein1982mayhaveaccountedforsomeoftheincreaseinthenumberofadultsentrainedeachyear,thecontinuedrisesince1982suggestsagenuineincreaseinthenumberoffemalesoccurringinthevicinityoftheplant.BetweenSeptember1982andDecember1986,267individualjuvenileandsub-adultloggerheadturtlescapturedinthecanalweresexedbyTexasA&MUniversityre-searchersusingabioimmunoassaytechniqueforbloodserumtestosterone.Aspre-viouslyreported,femalesoutnumberedmalesbyaratioof2.3:1.0(ABI,1989).ThesefindingsareconsistentwiththosereportedforsamplestakenfromtheCapeCanaveralshipchannel(1.7:1.0)andtheIndianRiverLagoon(1.4:1.0),wheresexratiosarealsosignificantlyskewedinfavoroffemales(Wibbelsetal.,1984).Bloodsamplescollectedsince1986arecurrentlybeinganalyzedandtheseresultswillprovideavaluabletoolforassessingtemporalvariabilityinthesexratiosofthelocalloggerheadpopulation.Oftheeightadultgreenturtlescapturedsincemonitoringbegan,sixweremalesandtwowerefemales.Siximmaturegreenturtleshavebeensexedthroughbloodwork;allhavebeenfemales.Ofthesixadultleatherbackturtlesforwhichsexwasrecorded,30

'fli4 threewerefemalesandthreeweremales.TheadulthawksbillandKemp'sridleywerebothfemales.Nosexinformationexistsforjuvenilesofthesespecies.CatureEfficienciesCapturemethodologiesevolvedoverthefirstseveralyearsofintakecanalmonitor-ingasnetmaterials,configurationsandplacementwerevariedinanefforttominimizeseaturtleentrapmenttimes.Concurrently,alternativecapturetechniqueswereevaluatedandpotentialdeterrentsystemstestedinthelaboratory.Duringthisperiod,captureefficienciesvariedinrelationtonettingeffortandtheeffectivenessofthesys-temsdeployed.Acapture/recapturestudyconductedintheintakecanalbetweenOctober1980andJanuary1981indicatedthatmostturtlesconfinedbetweentheA1Abridgeandtheintakeheadwallswerecapturedwithintwoweeksoftheirentrainment(ABI,1983).Basedonmorerecentformaldailyinspections,itappearsthatcaptureefficiencieshavefurtherimproved.Mostturtlesenteringthecanalarenowcaughtwithinafewdaysoffirstsighting,andinmanyinstances,turtleshavebeencaughtinthetanglenetswithoutanypriorsighting,suggestingresidencytimesoflessthan24hours.Betterutilizationofcurrentsandeddies,adjustmentstotetheringlinesandmulti-netdeploymentshavecontributedtoreducedentrapmenttimes.EntrapmenttimesmaybeextendedforturtlesswimmingpasttheA1Abarriernet(ABI,1987).Occasionally,thetopofthenethasbeensubmergedortheanchorcablepulledfreefromthebottom,allowinglargerturtlestopass;turtleswithcarapacewidthslessthanabout30.5cmcanswimthroughthelargemesh.Becausecaptureefforts 4S4 westoftheA1Abridgehavegenerallybeenlesseffectivethanthoseneartheintakeheadwalls,mostturtlesbreachingthebarriernetwerenotcaughtuntiltheyenteredtheintakewellsofUnits1and2.Sincethecanalcaptureprogrambegan,about14per-centofallturtlesentrappedinthecanalhavebeenremovedfromtheintakewells.Be-causeoftheirrelativelysmallsizes,agreaterproportionofgreens(47.9percent)reachedtheplantthanloggerheads(8.1percent)~AftercompletionofthesecurityintrusionbarrierinDecember1986,turtleslargerthan30.5cmincarapacewidthwerepreventedfromreachingtheintakewells.During1989,onlysixloggerheads(5.4percentofallloggerheadcaptures)breachedtheA1Abarriernet.Fourofthesewereremovedfromthecanalattheintrusionbarrier,whiletheothertwowerecapturedfurtherupstream.Bycomparison,atotalofsixgreenandoneKemp'sridley(35and56percent,respectively,oftotalcaptures)circumventedtheA1Abarriernetduring1989.Allofthesewereremovedattheplant'sintakewells.RelativeConditionTurtlescapturedaliveintheintakecanaloftheSt.LuciePlantwereassignedarela-tiveconditionbasedonweight,activity,parasiteinfestation,barnaclecoverage,wounds,injuriesandanyotherabnormalitieswhichmighthaveaffectedoverallwell-being(Table6).During1989,89.2percent(99)ofallloggerheadsfoundinthecanalwerealiveandingoodtoexcellentcondition.Only7.2percent(8)ofloggerheadcap-turesinvolvedindividualsinfairorpoorcondition;3.6percent(4)oftheloggerheadsremovedfromthecanalweredead.32

Ofthe17greenturtlesremovedfromtheintakecanalduring1989,allbutone(94.1percent)wereingoodtoexcellentcondition.Theremainingindividualwasdeadwhenrecovered.Bothhawksbills,theleatherbackandoneofthetwoKemp'sridleyswereingoodtoexcellentconditionwhencaptured.TheotherKemp'sridleywasinpoorcondition.4)oOvertheentiremonitoringperiod,about72and79percent,respectively,ofalllog-gerheadandgreencaptureshaveinvolvedturtlesingoodtoexcellentcondition(Table6).Capturesofindividualsinfairtopoorconditionhaveoccurredabout20percentofthetimeforloggerheadsand13percentofthetimeforgreens.Allofthehawksbillsandallbutoneleatherbackhavebeenremovedfromthecanalingoodtoexcellentcondition,whileabouthalfoftheKemp'sridleyshavefallenintothesecategories.Relativeconditionratingscanbeinfluencedbyanumberoffactors,somerelatedandothersunrelatedtoentrainmentand/orentrapmentintheintakecanal.Ratingsofgoodtoexcellentindicatethatturtleshavenotbeennegativelyimpactedbytheirentrap-mentinthecanal,atleastasevidencedbyphysicalappearance.Althoughratingsoffairorpoorimplyreducedvitality,theextenttowhichentrainment/entrapmentisresponsibleisoftenindeterminable.Insomeinstances,conditionsresponsibleforlowerratings,suchasinjuries,obviouslyweresustainedpriortoentrainment.During1989,onlyfivepercentofallcapturesinvolvedindividualswithnoticeablein-juries,suchasmissingappendages,brokenormissingpiecesofcarapaceanddeeplacerations.Mostofthesewereold,well-healedwounds.Atleastthreeloggerheadsappearedtohavebeenimpactedbyboatcollisionsasevidencedbysubstantial33 l~~~i~~Hg.li carapacedamage.Theywereexaminedbyaveterinarianandreleasedthesameday.Twootherloggerheadswereentangledinfishinglineandhadsustaineddeeplacera-tionsasaresult.~MortiitisDuring1989,4loggerheadmortalities(3.6percentofallloggerheadcaptures)wererecordedintheintakecanal.Onewasremovedfromthesecurityintrusionbarrier,onefromtheA1Abarriernetandtheothertwowerefoundfloatingunobstructedinthecanal.Additionally,asmallgreenturtlewasfounddeadneartheintakewells.Thedeathofoneoftheloggerheadsappearstohaveresultedeitherdirectlyorindirectlyfromen-tanglementinmonofllamentfishingline.Thetwologgerheadsremovedfromthecon-tainmentnetsmayhavedrowned,butthiscouldnotbepositivelyestablished.Overtheentire14yearmonitoringperiod,126(7.2percent)ofthe1,741logger-headsand19(6.6percent)ofthe286greenturtlesentrappedinthecanalwerefounddead(Table6).Mortalitiesspannedtherangeofsizeclassesforloggerheads(SLCL=47.5-103cm),whileallgreenturtlemortalitiesinvolvedjuvenileslessthan41cminlength.ThefourKemp'sridleymortalitiesdocumentedattheplantduring1987and1988weretheonlydeathsforthisspeciestodate;noleatherbackorhawksbillmor-talitieshaveoccurredattheSt.LuciePlant.Mortalitieshavebeencloselymonitoredthroughoutthelifeofthecanalcaptureprograminanattempttoassignprobablecausesandtakeappropriatecorrectivemeasurestoreducefutureoccurrences.Previousanalysesofcapturedataidentifieddrowninginnets,drowningintheintakepipesduringperiodsofreducedintakeflow,34 l~~f injuriessustainedfromdredgingoperationsandinjuriessustainedfromthemechani-calrakesusedintheintakewellsasprobablemortalityfactors(ABl,1987).Althoughdifficulttoquantify,theentrapmentandsubsequentdemiseofinjuredorsickturtlesprobablyaccountsforaportionofobservedmortalities.MostrecentmortalitiesintheintakecanalapparentlyresultedfromdrowningsattheA1Abarriernetandthenewlyconstructedsecurityintrusionbarrier.Adramaticin-creaseinloggerheadmortalitiesbetween1985and1986(Table2)wasthoughttohavebeenrelatedtoadjustmentsmadetotheA1Abarriernetduringthelatterpartof1985(ABI,1987).Presumably,theseadjustmentsincreasedtheprobabilityofaturtledrown-ing.AnewbarriernetinstalledinNovember1987apparentlycorrectedpreviousproblems,asonlyonemortalityhasbeenrecordedattheA1Abridgesince.Thatmor-talityoccurredduring1989.However,itcouldnotbedeterminediftheloggerheaddrownedasaresultofentanglementinthebarriernetorifitwasdeadbeforedriftingintothenet.During1989,sixturtleswiderthan35.0cmbreachedtheA1Abarriernetandenteredthewesternportionoftheintakecanalwherecaptureeffortsarelesseffective.Allwereloggerheads.Fourwerehandcapturedatthesecurityintrusionbarrier,whiletheothertwowereremovedfurtherupstream.Previousobservationssuggestedthatsickorin-juredturtlesmaybemoresusceptibletodrowningattheintrusionbarrierthanhealthyturtles(ABI,1988).Ofthefourloggerheadsrecoveredattheintrusionbarrierduring1989,onlyonewasdead.Similartopreviousmortalities,thisoneinvolvedanapparent-lyunderweightindividual,suggestingthatitmayhavebeeninpoorhealthatthetimeofentrapment.

l~~g~~~i~

RecatureIncidentsSincetheSt.LuciePlantcaptureprogrambegan,mostturtlesremovedalivefromtheintakecanalhavebeentaggedandreleasedintothe-oceanatvariouslocationsalongHutchinsonIsland.Consequently,individualturtlescanbeidentifiedaslongastheyretaintheirtags.Overthe14yearhistoryofturtleentrapmentattheSt.LuciePlant,56individuals(55loggerheadsand1green)havebeenremovedfromthecanalmorethanonce.Severalotherturtleswithtagscarshavealsobeenremoved,indicatingthattheactualnumberofrecapturesmaybehigher.Ofthe55individualloggerheadsknowntohavebeencaughtmorethanonce,41werecaughttwice,sixwerecaughtthreetimes,fourwerecaughtfourtimes,twowerecapturedsixtimes,onewascaughtseventimesandonewascaughtonnineseparateoccasions,yieldingatotalof89recaptureincidents.Releasesitedidnotappeartohaveanyeffectonaturtle'sprobabilityofbeingrecaptured.Turtlesreleasedbothnorthandsouthoftheplantreturned.Recapturesalsodidnotappeartoberelatedtosize,asbothjuvenilesandadultswerecapturedmorethanonce(rangeofSLCL=47-89cm).However,themajorityofrecaptureincidentsinvolvedjuvenilesandsub-adults(SLCL<70cm).Recaptureintervalsforloggerheadsrangedfromfourto858days,withameanof161days(+175.4days).Theonlygreenturtlecaughtmorethanoncewascapturedontwooccasions,returningtothecanal59daysafterfirstbeingreleasedintotheocean.About53percentofallloggerheadrecaptureincidentsoccurredwithin90daysofpreviouscaptureand90percentwithinoneyear(Figure21).Theaverageinterval36 Sl betweenfirstandlastcapturewas264days(+322.2days).Thelongestperiodbe-tweenfirstandlastcapturewas5.3years.ThesedatasuggestthatresidencytimesofloggerheadswithinthenearshorehabitatadjacenttotheSt.LuciePlantarerelativelyshort.SimilarfindingshavebeenreportedforloggerheadsinhabitingtheMosquito/In-dianRiverLagoonsofeast-centralFlorida(MendoncaandEhrhart,1982).SUMMARYAgradientofincreasingloggerheadturtlenestdensitiesfromnorthtosouthalongthenorthernhalfofHutchinsonIslandhasbeenshownduringallsurveyyears.Thisgradientmayresultfromvariationsinbeachtopography,offshoredepthcontours,dis-tributionofnearshorereefs,onshoreartificiallightingandhumanactivityonthebeach-atnight.Lownestingactivityinthevicinityofthepowerplantduring1975andfrom1981through1983wasattributedtoconstructionofpowerplantintakeanddischargesystems.Nestingreturnedtonormalorabovenormallevelsfollowingbothperiodsofconstruction.Powerplantoperation,exclusiveofintake/dischargeconstruction,hashadnosignificanteffectonnestdensities.Therehavebeenconsiderableyear-to-yearfluctuationsinloggerheadnestingac-tivityonHutchinsonIslandfrom1971through1989.Fluctuationsarecommonatotherrookeriesandmayresultfromoverlappingofnon-annualbreedingpopulations.Despitethesefluctuations,loggerheadnestingactivityhasremainedrelativelyhighduringthelasteightyears.Norelationshipbetweentotalnestingontheislandandpowerplantoperationorintake/dischargeconstructionwasindicated.37 lf TemporarydeclinesinloggerheadnestingactivityhavebeenattributedtocoolwaterintrusionsthatfrequentlyoccuroverthecontinentalshelfofsoutheastFlorida.ThoughtemporalnestingpatternsoftheHutchinsonIslandpopulationmaybeinfluencedbynaturalfluctuationsinwatertemperature,nosignificanteffectsduetopowerplantoperationhavebeenindicated.Sincenestingsurveysbeganin1971,raccoonpredationwasconsideredthemajorcauseofturtlenestdestructiononHutchinsonIsland.From1971through1977,over-allpredationratesintheninesurveyareaswerebetween21and44percent.However,apronounceddecreaseinraccoonpredationoccurredafter1977,andoverallpreda-tionratesintheninesurveyareashavenotexceededtenpercentsince1979.Decreasedpredationbyraccoonsprobablyreflectsadeclineintheraccoonpopula-tion.During1989,45greenturtleand36leatherbackturtlenestswererecordedonHutchinsonIsland.Greenturtlenestingactivityexhibitedconsiderableannualfluctua-tions,ashasbeenrecordedatotherrookeries,buthasremainedrelativelyhighduringthelastsevenyears.LeatherbackturtlenestdensitieshaveremainedlowonHutchin-sonIsland;however,increasednestingduringrecentyearsmayreflectanoverallin-creaseinthenumberofnestingfemalesintheHutchinsonIslandarea.During1989,111loggerheads,17greenturtles,1leatherback;2hawksbillsand2Kemp'sridleyswereremovedfromtheSt.LuciePlantintakecanal~SincemonitoringbeganinMay1976,1,741loggerhead,286green,9leatherback,8hawksbilland17Kemp'sridleyturtleshavebeencaptured.Overthelifeofthemonitoringprogram,38 l

annualcatchesforloggerheadturtleshaverangedfrom33in1976(partialyearofplantoperationandmonitoring)toahighof195in1986.Yearlycatchesofgreenturtleshaverangedfrom0in1976to69in1984.Differencesinthenumberofturtlesentrappedduringdifferentyearsandmonthsareattributedtonaturalvariationintheoccurrenceofturtlesinthevicinityoftheoffshoreintakestructures,ratherthantoanyinfluenceofYtheplantitself.Size-classdistributionsofloggerheadturtlesremovedeachyearfromthecanalhaveconsistentlybeenpredominatedbyjuvenilesandsub-adultsbetween50and70cminstraightlinecarapacelength.Mostgreenturtlesentrappedinthecanal(about80per-cent)werejuveniles40cmorlessinlength.Forbothspecies,thelargestnumberofcapturesforallyearscombinedoccurredduringthewinter,buttheseseasonalpeaksweremuchmorepronouncedforgreenturtles.Sexratiosofbothadultandimmatureloggerheadscaughtinthecanalcontinuedtobebiasedtowardsfemales.During1989,about89percentofallloggerheadsandgreenturtlesremovedfromthecanalwerecategorizedbyphysicalappearanceasbeingingoodtoexcellentcon-dition.Overtheentire14yearmonitoringperiod,72and79percent,respectively,ofallloggerheadandgreenturtlecaptureshaveinvolvedindividualsinthesecategories;20percentoftheloggerheadsand13percentofthegreenturtlesremovedfromthecanalhavebeeninfairorpoorcondition.Onlyfivepercentoftheturtlesremovedfromtheintakecanalduring1989hadsub-stantialinjuries.Itappearedthatmostoftheseinjuriesweresustainedpriortoentrap-ment.Onceinthecanal,turtlesconfinedeastofA1Ausuallyhadverybriefresidency39 4

timesandthustherelativeconditionofmostturtleswasnotaffectedbytheirentrap-ment.During1989,6loggerheads,6greenturtlesand1Kemp'sridleyswamwestoftheA1Abridge.Mostoftheloggerheadswereretrievedatthesecurityintrusionbar-rier.AllofthegreenturtlesandtheKemp'sridleywereremovedfromthecanalattheintakewells.Sincemonitoringbegan,about8percentofallloggerheadand48per-centofallgreenturtlecaptureshaveoccurredattheintakewells.During1989,onegreenandfourloggerheadmortalitieswererecordedforthein-takecanal.Twoofthesedeathsappearedtohaveresultedfromdrowning,whileathirdmayhaveresultedfromentanglementinmonofilamentfishingline.Sinceintakecanalmonitoringbeganin1976,7.2percentoftheloggerheadsand6.6percentofthegreenturtlesremovedfromthecanalweredead.ThefourKemp'sridleymortalitiesin1987and1988weretheonlydeathsrecordedforthisspeciessincemonitoringbegan.AlloftheleatherbacksandhawksbillsentrappedintheintakecanalattheSt.LuciePlanthavebeencapturedaliveandreleasedintotheocean.

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rnest,R.G.,R.E.Martin,B.D.Peery,D.G.Strom,J.R.WilcoxandN.W.Walls.1988.Seaturtleentrapmentatacoastalpowerplant.Pages270-301inMahadevan,K.,R.K.Evans,P.Behrens,T.BiffarandLOlsen,eds.Proceedings,SoutheasternWorkshoponAquaticEcologicalEffectsofPowerGeneration.ReportNo.124,MoteMarineLaboratory,Sarasota,Florida,Ernest,R.G.,R.E.Martin,N.W.WallsandJ.R.Wilcox.1989.PopulationdynamicsofseaturtlesutilizingshallowcoastalwatersoffHutchinsonIsland,Florida.Pages57-59inEckert,S.A.,K.LEckertandT.H.Richardson,compilers.ProceedingsoftheNinthAnnualWorkshoponSeaTurtleConservationandBiology.NOAATechnicalMemorandumNMFS-SEFC-232.Fowler,LE.1979.Hatchingsuccessandnestpredationinthegreenseaturtle,Chelonia~mdasatTortvgvero,CostaRica.Ecology60(5i:945-955.Futch,C.R.andS.E.Dwinell.1977.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,Florida:1971-1974.IV.LanceletsandFishes.FloridaMarineResearchPublications24:1-23.Gallagher,R.M.1977.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,Florida:1971-1974.II.Sediments.FloridaMarineResearchPublications23:6-24.~~~~~~~~~~allagher,R.M.andM.LHollinger.1977.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,.Florida:1971-1974.I.Introductionandrationale.FloridaMarineResearchPublications23:1-5.Gallagher,R.M.,M.LHollinger,R.M.IngleandC.R.Futch.1972.MarineturtlenestingonHutchinsonIsland,Floridain1971.FloridaDepartmentofNaturalResources,SpecialScientificReport37:1-11.Hendrickson,J.R.andE.Balasingam.1966.NestingbeachpreferencesofMalayanseaturtles.BulletinoftheNationalMuseumSingapore33(10):69-76.Henwood,T;A.1987.Movementsandseasonalchangesinloggerheadturtle,Carettacaret-taaggregationsinthevicinityofCapeCanaveral,Florida(1978-84).BiologicalCon-servation40:191-202.Hillestad,H.O.,J.l.Richardson,C.McVea,Jr.andJ.M.Watson,Jr.1982.Worldwideinciden-talcaptureofseaturtles.Pages489-496inBjorndal,K.A.,ed.Biologyandconserva-tionofseaturtles.SmithsonianInstitutionPress,Washington,D.C.Hirth,H.F.1980.Someaspectsofthenestingbehaviorandreproductivebiologyofseaturtles.AmericanZoologist20:507-523.

Ir~

opkins,S.R.,T.M.Murphy,Jr.,K.B.StansellandP,M.Wilkinson.1979.BioticandabioticfactorsaffectingnestmortalityintheAtlanticloggerheadturtle.ProceedingsAnnualConferenceofSoutheasternFishandWildlifeAgencies32:213-223.Hughes,G.R.1974.TheseaturtlesofsoutheastAfrica,1.Status,morphologyanddistribu-tions.SouthAfricanAssociationforMarineBiologicalResearch,OceanographicResearchInstitute,InvestigationalReportNo.35:1-144..1976.IrregularreproductivecyclesintheTongalandloggerheadseaturtle,aretta~cretta(L)(Cryptodira:Chelonidae).ZoologicaAfricanstt(2):288-29t.Martin,R.E.,R.G.Ernest,N.W.WallsandJ.R,Wilcox.1989a.SizedistributionandseasonalabundanceofloggerheadandgreenturtlesinnearshorewatersoffHutchinsonIsland,Florida,Pages334-335inOgren,L,F.Berry,K.Bjorndal,H.Kumpf,R.Mast,G.Medina,H.ReichartandR.Witham,editors.ProceedingsoftheSecondWesternAt-lanticTurtleSymposium.Mayaguez,PuertoRico,12-16October1987.NOAATechni-calMemorandumNMFS-SEFC-226..1989b.Long-termtrendsinseaturtlenestingonHutchin-sonIsland,Florida.Pages111-113inEckert,S.A.,K.LEckertandT.H.Richardson,compilers.ProceedingsoftheNinthAnnualWorkshoponSeaTurtleConservationandBiology.NOAATechnicalMemorandumNMFS-SEFC-232.Mendonca,M.T.andLM.Ehrhart.1982.Activity,populationsizeandstructureoftheimma-tureQhelonia~mdasandCarettacarettainMosquitoLagoon,Florida.Copciat982:(1)161-167.Moffler,M.D.andJ.F.VanBreedveld.1979.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,Florida:1971-1974.X.Benthicalgaespecieslist.FloridaMarineResearchPublications34:118-122.Mortimer,J.A.1982.Factorsinfluencingbeachselectionbynestingseaturtles.Pages45-51inBjorndal,K,Aed.BiologyandConservationofSeaTurtles.SmithsonianInstitutionPress.Washington,D.C.NMFS(NationalMarineFisheriesService).1978.FinalEISlistingandprotectingthegreenseaturtle(Chelonia~mdas,loggerheadseaturtle(Caretta~carettaandthePacificRidleyI~ELLE~hIg~lidhEdgdSpiAf1973.NalMarineFisheriesService,Dept.ofCommerce,Washington,D.C.NRC(USNuclearRegulatoryCommission).1982.FinalenvironmentalstatementrelatedtotheoperationofSt.LuciePlantUnit2.DocketNo.50-389.45 lt

'Hara,J.1980.Thermalinfluencesontheswimmingspeedofloggerheadturtlehatchlings.Copeia1980(4):773-780.O'ara,J.andJ.R.Wilcox.InPress.Avoidanceresponseofloggerheadturtles,~Carettcaret-~ttolowfrequencysound.Copeia1990.Owens,D.W.,J.R.Hendrickson,V.LanceandI.P.Callard.1978.Atechniquefordetermin-ingsexofimmature~ChI~ni~mlsusingaradioimmunoassay.Herpetotogica34:270-273.Owens,D.W.andG.J.Ruiz.1980.Newmethodsofobtainingbloodandcerebrospinalfluidfrommarineturtles.Herpetologica36:17-20.Pritchard,P.C.,P;R.Bacon,F.H.Berry,A.F.Carr,J.Fletemeyer,R.M.Gallagher,S.R.Hop-kins,R.R.Lankford,R.MarquesM.,LH.Ogren,W.G.Pringle,Jr.,H.A.ReichartandR.Witham.1983.Manualofseaturtleresearchandconservationtechniques.PreparedfortheWesternAtlanticTurtleSymposium,SanJose,CostaRica,July1983.126pp.Proffitt,C.E.,R.E.Martin,R.G.Ernest,B.J.Graunke,S.E.LeCroy,K.A.Muldoon,B.D.Peery,J.R.WilcoxandN.Williams-Walls.1986.Effectsofpowerplantconstructionandopera-s~~~~tiononthenestingoftheloggerheadseaturtle(Caretta~caretta:1971-1984.Copeia1986(3):813-816.Raymond,P.W.1984.TheeffectsofbeachrestorationonmarineturtlesnestinginsouthBrevardCounty,Florida.M.S.thesis,UniversityofCentralFlorida.Routa,R.A.1968.SeaturtlenestsurveyofHutchinsonIsland,Florida.QuarterlyJournalFloridaAcademyofSciences30(4):287-294.Schulz,J.P.1975.SeaturtlesnestinginSurinam.ZoologischeVerhandelingen,uitgegevendoorhetRijksmuseumvanNatuurlijkeHistoricteLeiden,No.143:1-144.Smith,N.P.1982.UpwellinginAtlanticshelfwatersofsouthFlorida.FloridaScientist45(2):125-138.Sokal,R.R.andF.J.Rohlf.1981.Biometry.Theprinciplesandpracticeofstatisticsinbiologi-calresearch.W.H.FreemanandCompany,SanFrancisco.859pp.Stancyk,S.E.1982.Non-humanpredatorsofseaturtlesandtheircontrol.Pages139-152inBjorndal,K.A.,ed.BiologyandConservationofSeaTurtles.SmithsonianInstitutionPress.Washington,D.C.46 II1~~t~~~~t albert,O.R.,S.E.Stancyk,J.M.DeanandJ.M.Will.1980.Nestingactivityoftheloggerheadturtle(garetta~carettainSouthCarolina.I:Arookeryintransition.Copeia1950:(4)709-718.Taylor,C.B.,andH.B.Stewart.1958.SummerupwellingalongtheeastcoastofFlorida.Jour-nalofGeophysicalResearch64(1):33-40.Tester,LA.andK.A.Steidinger.1979.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,Florida:1971-1974.Vll.Phytoplankton,1971-1973.FloridaMarineResearchPublica-tions34:16-61.Walker,LM.1979.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,Florida:1971-1974.IX.Dielplankton,1973-1974.FloridaMarineResearchPublications34:99-117.Walker,LM.,B.M.GlassandB.S.Roberts.1979.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,Florida:1971-1974.Vill~Zooplankton,1971-1973.FloridaMarineResearchPublications34:62-98.Walker,LM.andK.A.Steidinger.1979.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,Florida:1971-1974.Vl.Planktondynamics,1971-1973.FloridaMarineResearchPublications34:1-15.eWibbels,T.,D.Owens,Y.MorrisandM.Amoss.1984.Sexratiosofimmatureloggerheadsea~~~~~~~~~~~turtlescapturedalongtheAtlanticcoastoftheUnitedStates.FinalReporttotheNa-tionalMarineFisheriesService.ContractNo.NA81-GA-C-0039.47pp.Williams-Walls,N.,J.O'ara,R.M.Gallagher,D.F.Worth,B.D.PeeryandJ.R.Wilcox.1983.~~~~~SpatialandtemporaltrendsofseaturtlenestingonHutchinsonIsland,Florida,1971-1979.BulletinofMarineScience33(1):5546.Witherington,B.E.andLM.Ehrhart.1989.Statusandreproductivecharacteristicsofgreenturtles(Chelonia~mdasnestinginFlorida.Pages351-352inOgren,L.,F.Berry,K.Bjorndal,H.Kumpf,R.Mast,G.Medina,H.ReichartandR.Witham,editors.Proceed-ingsoftheSecondWesternAtlanticTurtleSymposium.Mayaguez,PuertoRico,12-16October1987.NOAATechnicalMemorandumNMFS-SEFC-226.WttII.WN.1999.9y9IttlIptIdtthh91liltNI,~W(Linnaeus,1766).FAOFisheriesSynopsis,137:1-78.Worth,D.F.andM.LHollinger.1977.NearshoremarineecologyatHutchinsonIsland,Florida:1971-1974.III.Physicalandchemicalenvironment.FloridaMarineResearchPublica-tions23:25-85.47

orth,D.F.,andJ.B.Smith.1976.MarineturtlenestingonHutchinsonIsland,Florida,in1973.FloridaMarineResearchPublications18:1-17.

II GULF.OFMEXICO00FP+0Q4OoooC14INOYAROSKtlOMETERSSCALCr~~-N-'P00St.LuciaPlantFigure1.LocationoftheSt.LuciePlant.

IIIIII

'1~Ij~4l~-','UTCHINSONISLAND.~."r~11'~'~~tr~1JlV~0<QF~Vg'1~1y\~'~gO~ie~@500~qP0250500METERS.r.1~'(vtwO'"'c"~'NTAKE4':-,;'ELLSINTRUSIONBARRIER~u:qG~)'DISCHARGE@G'-..PIPESINTAKE'<:.HEADWALL'.INTAKESTRUCTURESBARRIER:NET'i.-,Cl'vINTAKECANAL~~Figure2.St.LuciePlantcoolingwaterintakeanddischargesystem.

ePLPierceInleteAI~"eeAle0'Qbb,e0EeIStateHwyA0ee'e,ttb1HQ23N40FPLST.LUCIEPLANTUSHwyI0w/6zgBBCCDDEE8FFREERGG~1RS~4TUeeescaHHe"-t90Skm~SLLucieInletFigure3.Designationandlocationofnine1.25-kmsegmentsandthirty-six1-kmsegmentssurveyedforseaturtlenesting,HutchinsonIsland,1971-1989.

8~lg~51 350300250(0z0200CCZ15010050123456789NORTHPOWERPLANTSOUTHFigure4.Meanannualnumberofloggerheadturtlenestsineachofthenine1.25-km-longsurveyareas,HutchinsonIsland,1971-1988,comparedwithnumberofnestsduring1989.Horizontallinesaremeans,boxesencloseplusorminusonestandarddeviation,verticallinesareranges,andclosedcirclesare1989values(1980datawereexcludedbecausenotallareasweresurveyed).

'I~~1$~

300250200COz150Dz10050A8CDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJABCDEFGHIJNORTH0POWERPLANTSOUTHFigure5.Meanannualnumberofloggerheadturtlenestsineachofthethirty-six1-km-Iongsurveyareas,MutchinsonIsland,1981-1988,comparedwithnumberofnestsduring1989.Horizontallinesaremeans,boxesencloseplusorminusonestandarddeviation,verticallinesareranges,andclosedcirclesare1989values.

600500400Oz30020010ABCDEFGHIJKLlvINOPQRSTUVWXYZA8CDEFGHIJABCDEFGHIJNORTHPOWERPLANTSOUTHFigure6..Meanannualnumberofloggerheadturtleemergencesineachofthethirty-six1-km-Iongsurveyareas,HutchinsonIsland,1981-1988,comparedwiththenumberofemergencesduring1989.Horizontallinesaremeans,boxesencloseplusorminusonestandarddeviation,verticallinesareranges,andclosedcirclesare1989values.

10080gCOCOOOg60GzI-COLU4020ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJABCDEFGHIJNORTHf'OWERPLANTSOUTHFigure7.Meanannualloggerheadturtlenestingsuccess(percentageofemergencesthatresultedinnests)foreachofthethirty-six1-km-longsurveyareas,HutchinsonIsland,19814988,comparedwithnestingsuccessduring1989.Horizontallinesaremeans,boxesencloseplusorminusonestandarddeviation,verticallinesareranges,andclosedcirclesare1989values.

I 300250o-oArea4(PowerPlantSite)e--eArea5(ControlSite)200COI-ZO150Kz100/N///////501971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989Figure8.Numberofloggerheadturtlenestsinareas4and5,HutchinsonIsland,1971-1989.Arrowsdenoteyearsduringwhichintake/dischargeconstructionoccurredinarea4.

5000040000300020001000M10000Oz(g8000~6000g4000l:>>i200080604020198119821983198419851986198719881989Figure9.Annualnumberofnests,numberofemergencesandnestingsuccessalongtheentire36.lhkm-longAtlanticcoastlineofHutchinsonIsland,1981-1989.

3028O2624t-222018120SO(0Zp60KZ3001530515APRMAY30515JUN30515JUL30515AUG30515SEPFigure10,Dailyloggerheadturtlenestingactivityandwatertemperature,HutchinsonIsland,1989.

'I 706050O0K~40OCOzcL-30Dz2016%P(YlImR%33%glI::II:'Itly)rNIekjI24%2232%23'/9DestroyedbyghostcrabsDestroyedbyraccoonsandghostcrabsQrtttrDestroyedbyraccoons102%Q@mmmNPNNI!3II~rX%6%c8%881%1%2%1%ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJABCDEFGH,IJNORTHPOWERPLANTSOUTHFigure11.Numberofloggerheadturtlenestsdestroyedbyraccoonsandghostcrabsandpercentageofnestsdestroyedineach1-km-longsurveyarea,HutchinsonIsland,1989.

7560I-(045z30z15o---oGreen(Cheloniamydas)8-0Leatherback(Dermochelyscoriacea)8g~//IX-/I//I//I/I~/(/IIIIIIIIIII\019711973197519771979198119821983198419851986198719881989figure12.'nnualnumbersofgreenturtleandleatherbackturtlenests,HutchinsonIsland,1971-1989.

200~-aLOGGERHEAD(Carettacaretta)p---WGREEN(Cheloniamidas)80175150O125G01007550Z25////plUIIIIII\pi/p7060O50z4030mm201019761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989Figure13.Numberofloggerheadandgreenturtlesremovedeachyearfromtheintakecanal,St.LuciePlant,1976-1989.

5050cO40KDCLOLL30ZZ204030201010JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDECMONTHOFCAPTUREFigure14.Meannumberofloggerheadscapturedeachmonth,St.LuciePlantintakecanal,1977-1988,comparedwithnumberofmonthlycapturesduring1989.Horizontallinesaremeans,boxesencloseplusorminusonestandarddeviation,verticallinesareranges,andclosedcirclesare1989values.

II 350350300300250250MDD5200OZ0Kco150D20015010010050504041-4546-5051-5556-6061-6566-7071-7576-8081-8586-9091-9596-101-106->110STRAIGHTLINECARAPACELENGTH(cm)100105110Figure15.Lengthdistribution(SLCL)ofloggerheadseaturtles(N=1,580)removedforthefirsttimefromtheintakecanal,St.LuciePlant,1976-1989.Nodatacollectedfor72individuals.

I 350300300250OD2000KCOD1502502001501001005050~1011-2021-3031-4041-5051-6061-7071-8081-9091-100101-111-121-131-141-~150'W/ElGHT(kcj)110120130140150Figure16.Weightdistributionofliveloggerheadseaturtles(¹1,387)removedforthefirsttimefromtheintakecanal,St.LuciePlant,1976-1989.Nodataavailablefor265individuals.

12012010010080DDD600KLLJKlD408060402020-1516-21-26-31-36-41-46-51-56-61-66-71-76-81-86-91-96-101-106->11020253035404550556065707580859095100105110STRAIGHTLINECARAPACELENGTH(cm)Figure17.Lengthdistribution(SLCL)ofgreenturtles(N=276)removedforthefirsttimefromtheintakecanal,St.LuciePlant,1976-1989.Nodatacollectedfor9individuals.

II 200200180180160Do140CIz120mm100D80160140120100806060404020201-56-1011-1516-2021-2526-3031-3536-4041-4546-50WEIGHT(kg)51-100101-150151-200)200Figure18.Weightdistributionofgreenturtles(N=271)removedforthefirsttimefromtheintakecanal,St.LuciePlant,1976-1989.Nodatacollectedfor14individuals.

b 60MALESFEMALES605050MD400CIZ0K30Dz403020201010JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDECMONTHOFCAPTUREFigure19.Numbersofadultloggerheads(SLCL>80.0cm),includingrecaptures,removedeachmonthfromtheintakecanal,St.LuciePlant,1976-1989.(N=297)

II

~-~CANALCAPTURES'000---0EMERGENCESOILIKI-Q.OCOrlJI-CI0CL03ZzZ403020100PrK/0///////0////////IA3400300200100ZCOOZGCL0KZZZ19761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989Figure2D.Comparisonofcapturesofadultfemaleloggerheadsintheintakecanal,St.LuciePlant,1976-1989,andnumbersofloggerheademergencesinarea4adjacenttotheplant.Nestingactivitywasnotmonitoredin1976and1978.

IIrgiIII 10080Gz60I-DDO4020~Or~A///0//II0/4//IIIIIItIIIIIIIIIIII~-------~IntervalbetweensuccessivecapturesIntervalbetweenfirstandlastcapture'008060402025050075010001250RECAPTUREINTERVAL(days)150017502000Figure21.Cumulativepercentageofallloggerheadrecapturesoccurringwithinvarioustimeintervalsbetweensuccessivecaptures(N=87)andfirstandlastcapture(N=53),St.LuciePlantintakecanal1976-1989.

IIII TABLE1ESTIMATESOFTHENUMBERSOFLOGGERHEADTURTLENESTSONHUTCHINSONISLANDBASEDONSURVEYSOFNINE1.25-KM-LONGSURVEYAREAS,1971-1989,COMPAREDTOTHEACTUALNUMBEROFNESTSONTHEISLAND,1981-1989Year19711973197519771979198119821983198419851986198719881989Numberofnestsinthenine14201260149393214491031163415921439162318391645170117741.25-km-longsurveyareasExtrapolationfromthenine41753704438927404260303148044680423147725407483650015216surveyareastotheentireisland(seetext)Actualnumberofnestsontheentireisland311546904743427748775483462349905193

TA0TOTALNUMBEROFSEATURTLECAPTURESAND(NUMBEROFDEAD)TURTLESREMOVEDFROMTHEINTAKECANALST.LUCIEPLANT1976-1989Year19761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989oeread33(4)80(5)138(19)172(13)116(5)62(5)101(16)119(4)148(3)157(4)195(27)175(11)134(6)111(4)reen5(2)6(1)3(1)10(3)32(2)23(4)69(2)1422(i)3542(2)17(i)Secieseaterbackhawsb>Kemsrsde6(2)5(2)Total33(4)86(7)-148(20)175(14)126(8)97(7)110(16)142(8)220(5)172(4)220(28)218(13)181(10)133(5)Total1741(126)286(19)9(0)8(0)i>(4)2061(149)AnnualMeana131.422.00.70.61.3156.0Excludes1976(partialyearofplantoperation).

1Lgigi~I TABLE3TOTALNUMBERAND(NUMBEROFDEAD)LOGGERHEADTURTLESREMOVEDEACHMONTHFROMTHEINTAKECANALST.LUCIEPLANT1976-1989Month19761977197819791980198119821983Januaryfebruary131924(3)1611(1)6(2)398(1)11(2)29(1)21(2)11(3)1113(1)MarchAprilMay727(2)11145(2)19(5)170213(1)0761410140617(4)4June05103(1)8(3)677(1)July7(1)4027(2)017August231216(2)12September115(1)18(1)19OctoberNovemberDecember79(1)17(2)15(3)75(3)515(7)12495410862(1)62(1)9(1)8(2)09(5)1704(2)531(1)12Total33(4)80(5)138(19)172(13)116(5)62(5)101(16)119(4)

E3(continued)TOTALNUMBERAND(NUMBEROFDEAD)LOGGERHEADTURTLESREMOVEDEACHMONTHFROMTHEINTAKECANALST.LUCIEPLANT1976-1989MonthMonthlyPercentof198419851986198719881989TotalMeanTotalCatchJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJune13llll156202(l)1371628(1)1715(2)-26(3)16(4)ll713213(11)16.410(3)6173(17)13.31223(1)281320(1)26(1)3016139(6)9.9183(8)13.114(4)8(1)114(2)143(9)11.020(2)24(3)13(2)11148(15)11.412.510.18.48.78.010.7JulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember161410793829(4)11(2)1012(1)20(3)26(2)19(1)2619(1)34(6)17(1)23117(13)8.455(1)85(13)6.19292(1)6.6521(1)156(11)11.1315173(11)12.411(1)2119(11)8.58.710.06.96.44.74.9Total148(3)157(4)195(27)175(11)134(6)111(4)1741(126)Excludes1976(partialyearofplantoperation).

II TABLE4TOTALNUMBERAND(NUMBEROFDEAD)GREENTURTLESREMOVEDEACHMONTHFROMTHEINTAKECANALST.LUCIEPLANT1976-1989MonthJanuaryFebruary197619771978197919801981210020(1)2(1)215(1)7198219838(1)MarchApril021(1)004(1)11(1)013(2)MayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberl(l)0011(1)002(1)4(1)Total5(2)6(1)3(1)10(3)32(2)23(4)

IIII TAB4(continued)TOTALNUMBERAND(NUMBEROFDEAD)GREENTURTLESREMOVEDEACHMONTHFROMTHEINTAKECANALST.LUCIEPLANT1976-1989MonthMonthlyPercentof198419851986198719881989TotalMeanTotalCatchJanuaryFebruaryMarch1011.116(1)37(1)4141245(2)30(4)3.52.315.710.53(1)93(4)7.232.5AprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember4(l)1336(2)18(2)8(i)i7(3)9(i)1218(2)231.40.61.20.60.60.40.91.31.66.32.85.92.83.11.74.26.38.0Total69(2)1422(1)3542(2)17(1)286(19)

I.Il TA5NUMBEROFMONTHLYCAPTURESBYSIZECLASSFORLOGGERHEADTURTLESREMOVEDFROMTHEINTAKECANALST.LUCIEPLANT1977-1989aSizeclasses(SLCLincmbMonthJuveniles/Sub-Adults41-5051-6061-70TotalPercentaeTransitionAdults71-80Percentae81-9091-100>100TotalPercentaeJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilcnMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberTotalXofTotal1672575413711.817481139.7161210444849105329094643984343481424548963785735307220244853326649556849811619.0197.7118.4137.0128.3207.3126.2184.1185.5918870.7837317214.82312.29.08.510.15.86.96.410.66.49.69.64.811.410162733141722010604017020325317192114140121233645551181610110112934.12.42.74.111.321.918.817.46.15.53.42.417.8aExcludes1976(partialyearofdata)bNodatawerecollectedfor66individuals.

IIIII SRTA6RELATIVECONDITIONOFSEATURTLESREMOVEDFROMTHEINTAKECANALST.LUCIEPLANT1976-1989RelativeconditionLoerheadsNumberGreensNumberLeatherbacksNumberKem'sridlesNumberHawksbillsNumberAllseciesNumber34419.89934.647927.526515.2.814.71267.2100.6.7827.32910.172.4196.651.7<43625.04917.1111.1211.8666.7111.1317.6317.6211.8423.51ll131766750452219225.049123.856627.529814.5904.41497-2150.7TOTAL1741286172061.1Excellent-normalorabovenormalweight,active,veryfewornobarnaclesorleeches,nowounds.2Verygood-intermediategoodtoexcellent.3Good-normalweight,active,lighttomediumcoverageofbarnaclesand/orleeches,woundsabsent,healedordonotappeartodebilitatetheanimal.4Fair5Poor-intermediate'oortogood.-emaciated,sloworinactive,heavybarnaclecoverageand/orleechinfestation,debilitatingwoundsormissingappendages.6Dead7Alivebutotherwiseconditionnotrecorded.

I FLORIDAPOWER8cLIGHTCOMPANYST.LUCIEUN%NO.2ANNUALENVIRONMENTALOPERATINGREPORT(FPL49)VOLUMEII

ANNUALENVIRONMENTALOPERATINGREPORTIntroductionTheSt.LucieUnit2EnvironmentalProtectionPlan(EPP)requiresthesubmittalofanannualreportforvariousactivitiesattheplantsiteincludingthereportingonseaturtlemonitoringprograms,andothermattersrelatedtoFederalandStateenvironmentalpermitsandcertifications.ThisreportandVolumeIIdescribedbelowfulfillthesereportingrequirements.II.SeaTurtleMonitorinandAssociatedActivitiesAreportonaquaticandterrestrialseaturtlemonitoringprogramstosatisfySections4.2.1(BeachNestingSurveys),4.2.3(StudiestoEvaluateand/orMitigateIntakeCanalMortality)and4.2.5(CaptureandReleaseProgram)isconcurrentlysubmittedinaseparatereport(AB-603,Vol.II)preparedbyAppliedBiology,Inc.ofJensenBeach,FloridaandAtlanta,Georgia.Studiestoevaluateand/ormitigateintakeentrapmentrequiredbySection4.2.2oftheEPPhavebeenpreviouslyperformed.AfinalreportwassubmittedtotheOfficeofNuclearReactorRegulationonApril18,1985.Withsubmittalofthatreport,theEPPrequirementwasfulIiiledandwillnotbereaddressedinthisorfuturereports.SurveillanceandmaintenanceofthelightscreentominimizeseaturtledisorientationasrequiredbySection4.2.4oftheEPPisongoing.TheAustralianPinelightscreen,locatedonthebeachdunebetweenthepowerplantandtheocean,isroutinelysurveyedto IIIII determineitsoverallvitality.Thetreelineissurveyedforanygapsoccurringfromtreemortality,whichwouldresultinunacceptablelightlevelsonthebeach.Treesarereplacedasnecessarytomaintaintheoverallintegrityofthelightscreen.III.OtherRoutineReortsThefollowingitemsforwhichreportingisrequiredarelistedbysectionnumberfromtheplant'sEnvironmentalProtectionPlan(EPP):5.4.1.(a)EPPNONCOMPLIANCESANDCORRECTIVEACTIONSTAKENNononcompliancesunderEPPSection5.4.1(a)weredeterminedtohaveoccurredduring1989.5.4.1.(b)STATIONDESIGNANDOPERATIONCHANGESTESTSANDEXPERIMENTSAFFECTINGTHEENVIRONMENTNoplantsiteactivitiesweredeterminedtobereportableunderSection5.4.1(b)during1989.5.4.1.(c)NONROUTINEREPORTSSUBMIITEDTOTHENRCFORTHEYEAR18INACCORDANCEWITHEPPSUBSECTION5..2:1.SubmittalofanNPDESPermitmodificationrequesttoEPA;sumittedtotheNRConApril13,1989.

2.ReportconcerninganexceedanceoftheNPDESPermitlimitationforpHfromtheUnit1SewageTreatmentPlanteffluent;reportedtotheNRConMay11,1989.3.ReportconcerninganexceedanceoftheNPDESPermitlimitationforfreeavailableoxidantsintheoncethroughcoolingwaterdischarge;reportedtotheNRConJune7,1989.4.ReportconcerninganexceedanceoftheNPDESPermitlimitationforironfromtheradwastesystemeffluent;reportedtotheNRConJuly17,1989.5.ReportconcerninganexceedanceoftheNPDESPermitlimitationformaximumoncethroughcoolingwaterdischargetemperature(dischargecanalterminus);reportedtotheNRConOctober16,1989.ThefollowingreportsweresubmittedtotheNRCfortheyear1989forinformationalpurposesalthoughnotrequiredunderprovisionsofEPPsubsection5.4.2:1.SeaturtleactivitiesreportdatedApril24,1989forthefirstquarter1989.2.SeaturtleactivitiesreportdatedAugust2,1989forthesecondquarter1989.3.SeaturtleactivitiesreportdatedNovember2,1989forthethirdquarter1989.4.SeaturtleactivitiesreportdatedJanuary23,1990forthefourthquarter1989.