Terms of Reference

Leatherback sea turtle Part 1: Using Satellite Tracking Data to Define Important Habitat

Zonal Peer Review – Maritimes, Gulf, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec

29 February – 1 March 2012
Halifax, NS

Chairperson: Kent Smedbol

Context

Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) was designated as Endangered by COSEWIC in April 1981 and reassessed as Endangered in May 2001.  A Recovery Strategy for the Leatherback Turtle in Atlantic Canada was published in February 2007.  Critical habitat was not identified at that time, but a schedule of studies to identify critical habitat was provided.  The Species at Risk Act (SARA) requires that the competent minister report on the implementation of the Recovery Strategy and progress toward meeting its objectives within five years of when it is included in the public registry.  This deadline for review is February 2012.  An Action Plan for Leatherback Turtles in Atlantic Canada is also being developed at this time, which would include a description of critical habitat if not included within the Recovery Strategy.  Information that could be used to identify important habitat for Leatherback Turtles in Atlantic Canadian waters was peer reviewed by the October 2010 National Marine Mammal Peer Review Committee (NMMPRC).  Some additional information was requested. It is the intent of the current meeting to review the requested information.

The information generated in this advisory process will be used by the Maritimes Species at Risk Office in the 5 year review of the Leatherback Turtle Recovery Strategy, in the development of the Action Plan, and in the proposal of critical habitat for designation by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Objective

The objective of this meeting is to review information available to assist in the identification of important habitat for Leatherback Turtles in Atlantic Canada.  Given that little is known about the biological, chemical, and physical features associated with important feeding habitat for Leatherback Turtles, this RAP will review the data on the spatial distribution and behavioural patterns inferred from satellite tracking data to identify areas consistently used by Leatherback Sea Turtles in high densities year after year, i.e., inferring from the turtles’ behaviour where the important habitat exists.  Specifically, this meeting will:

• Briefly review the methodology of using satellite tracking data to define important habitat (reviewed previously at the 2010 NMMPRC meeting);
• Review areas of high use likely associated with intensive prey searching and foraging activity, that could be considered important feeding habitat;
• Identify seasonal habitat by month or season, and concatenate this information into a definition of important habitats;
• Review a table of tagging locations, duration and where turtles from different locations were tracked during their deployment;
• Provide clarity on where and when data was available spatially (i.e., a measure of effort); 
• Provide details, where available, on habitat characteristics in the turtle high use areas (e.g., sea surface temperature, jellyfish densities, etc.);

If current information is incomplete, recommendations for research or analysis that is necessary in order to complete these Terms of Reference will be discussed.

In completing these objectives, it is expected that the recommendations provided by the National Marine Mammal Peer Review Committee during their October 2010 meeting will be addressed.

Expected Publications

• CSAS Science Advisory Report
• CSAS Research Document
• CSAS Proceedings

Participation

• DFO Science
• DFO Ecosystem Management
• DFO Fisheries Management
• Provincial government representatives
• Industry representatives
• Non-governmental organizations
• Aboriginal groups
• Academics
• International experts

References

Atlantic Leatherback Turtle Recovery Team, 2006. Recovery Strategy for Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) in Atlantic Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa.

COSEWIC, 2001. COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Leatherback Turtle Dermochelys coriacea in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa.

DFO, 2007. Documenting Habitat use of Species at Risk and Quantifying Habitat Quality. DFO. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2007/038.

DFO, 2011. Meeting of the National Marine Mammal Peer Review Committee; November 22-26, 2010. DFO. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Proceed. Ser. 2011/003.