The FLSTSSN gathers data on dead, sick, or injured (i.e., stranded)
sea turtles found in Florida.
This network functions as a part of an eighteen-state network
led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In Florida, strandings are
documented by the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) staff
biologists and by a network of permitted participants located
around the state.
Live strandings are rescued and
transported to properly permitted rehabilitation facilities.
Strandings data collected on a standardized reporting form include
date, species, location, carapace length and width, carcass
condition, carcass disposition, and information on anomalies (e.g.,
entanglement, propeller damage, and fibropapillomas).
Additionally, certain carcasses are collected by FWRI staff for
gross or detailed necropsy. FWRI reports Florida sea turtle
strandings to NMFS as a part of a management plan intended to
reduce the incidental take of turtles in the shrimp fishery.
FWRI also uses sea turtle stranding data to monitor
mortality and to detect and describe any unusual stranding events.
Stranding data collected through the FLSTSSN have been used
extensively in the identification of mortality factors and in the
development of recovery actions (e.g., Turtle Excluder Device
requirements and gill net regulations).
GIS Map
of Statewide Turtle Stranding Data on the the Marine
Resources GIS (MRGIS) data page. The link to the MRGIS Internet Map
Server is at the bottom of the MRGIS IMS article. To make a map of
turtle data, select " turtles" as current map view, and navigate
using menu on the left side.
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