Range & Status

Loggerheads are the most highly migratory species of marine turtle and can be found worldwide in both temperate and subtropical coastal waters, although nesting occurs in more temperate regions than for other sea turtle species (Marine Conservation Society, UK, 2008c). Juvenile or sub-adult Loggerheads occasionally occur in British waters and are thought to come from the American coast. Penhallurick (1990) suggests that a decrease in numbers between the 1950s and at least until the 1990s reflected a decrease in America where huge numbers were accidentally caught in shrimp nets and where their nesting grounds were diminishing as a result of development. Locally, threats come from the cold. It is only with human intervention that one or two occasionally survive to be flown back to the Caribbean region.

Strandings & Sightings

There have been 58 (possibly 59) records between 1896 and 2007: 1955 (approximately 2), 1984 (approximately 2), 1945 (3), 1995 (3), 1996 (2), 1997 (1), 1998 (3), 1999 (15), 2000 (11), 2001 (2), 2002 (9), 2003 (2), 2005 (1), 2007 (2).

Conservation

Listed globally as Endangered (Marine Turtle Specialist Group 1996. Caretta caretta . In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 05 March 2008). This is also an OSPAR priority species (OSPAR, 2004).