A review of fisheries within the ICCAT Convention area that interact with sea turtles

There are currently growing concerns about the impacts of marine fisheries in vulnerable bycatch species, such as sea turtles. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is preparing an assessment on the impacts of ICCAT fisheries on sea turtle population, with the assessments scheduled to start in 2013, and the data preparation starting in 2012. Integrated in this process, this document was prepared to compile and revise currently available information on interactions between fisheries and sea turtle population within the ICCAT Convention area, including the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. More emphasis is given to interactions with ICCAT fisheries, such as pelagic longlines, purse seines, driftnets and tuna traps, but other non-ICCAT fisheries that operate within the ICCAT convention area, such as trawl and nets, are also addressed. A summary of the data currently available at the ICCAT Secretariat to carry out the analysis is also presented.