A U.S. agency is agreeing to participate in an in-depth study on whether dredging a Georgia shipping channel in the spring and summer would pose threats to rare sea turtles.
FILE - In this June 30, 2019, photo provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a loggerhead sea turtle returns to the ocean after nesting on Ossabaw Island, Ga. A U.S. agency has agreed Friday, May 5, 2023, to an in-depth study of whether dredging a Georgia shipping channel in the spring and summer would post threats to rare sea turtles. – A U.S.
In place since 1991, the seasonal limits are intended to protect sea turtles from being killed and maimed by the vacuum-like suction pumps of hopper dredges during the warmer months, when female turtles are most abundant near Southern beaches. Conservationists credit that policy with helping threatened and endangered turtle species begin a fragile rebound.
Since the 1990s, maintenance dredging in Georgia and the Carolinas has been confined to a period roughly between December and March. Giant loggerhead sea turtles, federally protected as a threatened species, typically start nesting in May. Smaller numbers of endangered green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles lay eggs in the region as well.
Army Corps officials have said seasonal restrictions make it difficult to compete for a limited number of contractors. They also argue that dredging windows timed to protect sea turtles ignore species such as critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, which frequent the same waters during winter.the Army Corps from conducting year-round dredging in Georgia. Last September, a different judge halted a similar plan in North Carolina.
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