| Contents Notes |
"This project represents one means of testing the working null hypothesis that sea turtle strandings are not related to man's activities at sea. There are a number of assumptions underlying the testing of this hypothesis, including but not limited to the following: (1) that those who take sea turtles incidentally (e.g., in commercial or recreational fishing ventures or when using explosives for petroleum platform removal, would not mutilate the carcasses in a manner that would prevent them from floating onto a beach, (2) that stranded sea turtles would exhibit evidence of natural or man-caused trauma, (e.g. shark attacks) ingestion of or entanglement in marine debris etc.), (3) that strandings and marine debris on a given beach reflect impacts within the adjacent coastal waters, and (4) that at-sea strandings represent a significant portion of total sea turtle mortalities. The purposes of this study were (1) To document strandings of sea turtles, (2) to document types and amounts of man-made marine debris, and (3) to examine the relationship between strandings and man-made marine debris along the coastlines of Texas and southwestern Louisiana.)"--Introduction, paragraphs 4-5. |
