Editing Sea turtle (section)

==== Management ====
In the Caribbean, researchers are having some success in assisting a comeback.<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Clarren | first = Rebecca | title = Night Life  | journal = Nature Conservancy | volume = 58 | issue = 4 | pages = 32–43 | year = 2008}}</ref> In September 2007, [[Corpus Christi, Texas]], wildlife officials found 128 Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests on Texas beaches, a record number, including 81 on North [[Padre Island]] ([[Padre Island National Seashore]]) and four on [[Mustang Island]]. Wildlife officials released 10,594 Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings along the Texas coast in recent years.

The [[Philippines]] has had several initiatives dealing with the issue of sea turtle conservation. In 2007, the province of [[Batangas]] declared the catching and eating of sea turtles (locally referred to as [[Pawikan]]s) illegal. However, the law seems to have had little effect as sea turtle eggs are still in demand in [[Batangas#Etymology|Batangan]] markets. In September 2007, several Chinese [[Poaching|poachers]] were apprehended off the [[Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi|Turtle Islands]] in the country's southernmost province of [[Tawi-Tawi]]. The poachers had collected more than a hundred sea turtles, along with 10,000 sea turtle eggs.<ref name="PhilStar20070912">{{cite news|last=Adraneda |first=Katherine |title=WWF urges RP to pursue case vs turtle poachers |work=Headlines |publisher=The Philippine Star |date=12 September 2007 |url=http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20070911144 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216153133/http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20070911144 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 February 2013 |access-date=12 September 2007 }}</ref>

Evaluating the progress of conservation programs is difficult, because many sea turtle populations have not been assessed adequately.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Bjorndal |first1= Karen |last2= Bowen |first2= Brian |year= 2011 |title= Better science needed for restoration in the Gulf of Mexico |journal= Science |volume= 331 |pages= 537–538 |doi= 10.1126/science.1199935 |last3= Chaloupka |first3= M. |last4= Crowder |first4= L. B. |last5= Heppell |first5= S. S. |last6= Jones |first6= C. M. |last7= Lutcavage |first7= M. E. |last8= Policansky |first8= D. |last9= Solow |first9= A. R. |last10= Witherington |first10= B. E. |issue= 6017 |pmid= 21292956|display-authors= 8 |bibcode= 2011Sci...331..537B |s2cid= 33994573 }}</ref> Most information on sea turtle populations comes from counting nests on beaches, but this does not provide an accurate picture of the whole sea turtle population.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Witherington |first1=B.E. |last2=Kubilis |first2=Anne |last3=Brost |first3=Beth |last4=Meylan |first4=Anne |year=2009 |title=Decreasing annual nest counts in a globally important loggerhead sea turtle population |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=30–54 |doi=10.1890/08-0434.1 |pmid=19323172|bibcode=2009EcoAp..19...30W }}</ref> A 2010 United States National Research Council report concluded that more detailed information on sea turtles' life cycles, such as birth rates and mortality, is needed.<ref>{{Cite web | last1=The National Research Council | title=Assessment of Sea Turtle Status and Trends: Integrating Demography and Abundance | publisher=National Academies Press | place=Washington, DC | year=2010 | url=http://dels.nas.edu/Report/Assessment-Turtle-Status/12889}}</ref>

Nest relocation may not be a useful conservation technique for sea turtles. In one study on the freshwater Arrau turtle (''[[Podocnemis expansa]]'') researchers examined the effects of nest relocation.<ref name=":10" /> They discovered that clutches of this freshwater turtle that were transplanted to a new location had higher mortality rates and more morphological abnormalities compared to non-transplanted clutches.<ref name=":10">{{cite journal | last1 = Jaffé | first1 = R. | last2 = Peñaloza | first2 = C. | last3 = Barreto | first3 = G. R. | year = 2008 | title = Monitoring an endangered freshwater turtle management program: effects of nest relocation on growth and locomotive performance of the giant South American turtle (''Podocnemis expansa'', Podocnemididae) | journal = Chelonian Conservation and Biology | volume = 7 | issue = 2| pages = 213–222 | doi=10.2744/CCB-0696.1| s2cid = 86007443 }}</ref> However, in a study of loggerhead sea turtles (''[[Loggerhead sea turtle|Caretta caretta]]''), Dellert et al. found that relocating nests at risk of inundation increased the success of eggs and hatchlings and decreased the risk of inundation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dellert|first1=Lauren J.|last2=O'Neil|first2=Danielle|last3=Cassill|first3=Deby L.|date=2014-06-01|title=Effects of Beach Renourishment and Clutch Relocation on the Success of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) Eggs and Hatchlings|journal=Journal of Herpetology|volume=48|issue=2|pages=186–187|doi=10.1670/12-135|issn=0022-1511|hdl=10806/11541|s2cid=85697630}}</ref>