Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 108 , December 2013, pp. 1-25. | Page 20

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phenomena compound the problems of population reduction as a consequence of human activities (Wikipedia).

Threats
Loggerhead sea turtles were once intensively hunted for their meat and eggs; consumption has decreased, however, due to worldwide legislation. Despite this, turtle meat and eggs are still consumed in countries where regulations are not strictly enforced. In Mexico, turtle eggs are a common meal; locals claim the egg is anaphrodisiac. Eating turtle eggs or meat can cause serious illness due to harmful bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens, and high levels of toxic metals that build up through bioaccumulation (Wikipedia). The US West Coast is a critical migratory corridor for the Pacific loggerheads, in which these turtles swim across the Pacific to California’s coast from breeding grounds in Japan. Important foraging habitats for juveniles in the central North Pacific have been revealed through telemetry studies. Along with these foraging habitats, high levels of bycatch from industrial-scale fisheries have been found to overlap; with drift gillnets in the past and longline fisheries presently. Many juvenile loggerheads aggregate off the coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico, where small coastal fisheries increase these turtles' mortality risk; fishers have reported catching dozens of loggerheads with bottom-set gear per day per boat. The most common commercial fishery that accidentally takes loggerheads are bottom trawls used for shrimp vessels in the Gulf of California. In 2000, between 2,600 and 6,000 loggerheads were estimated to have been killed by pelagic longlining in the Pacific (Wikipedia). F ?6???rvV"?2F?R&?vvW7BF?&VBF???vvW&?VG2??F?R?V??6V??F?W??gFV?&V6??RV?F?v?VB?????v??W2?"v????WG2?66?&F??rF?F?R#?7FGW2&Wf?Wr?b??vvW&?VG2'?F?Rf?6?W&?W26W'f?6R?G&?v???rg&??V?F?v?V?V?B?????v??R?Bv????WBf?6???rvV"?2F?RGW'F?W>( ?&??'?F?&VB??F?R??'F?6?f?2?F?W??6?&V6??R7GV6???G&2??G2?G&v?2??BG&VFvW2?6Vv?B??F??2V?GFV?FVBWV??V?B???vvW&?VG2&?6?6W&??W2???W'??"G&?v???r?GW'F?RW?6?VFW"FWf?6W2f?"?WG2?B?F?W"G&2&VGV6RF?R?V?&W"&V??r66?FV?F??6Vv?B?v???VF????V&?#B??WG&?2F??2?b?7F?2&RGV?VB??F?F?R?6V?V6??V"?GW'F?W2??vW7Bv?FR'&??bF??2f??F??rFV'&?2???6?VF??r&w2?6?VWG2?V??WG2?&?????2?B&?F??VBf?6???r??R???vvW&?VG2???7F?RF?Rf??F??r?7F?2f?"?V??f?6??6?????f??B?FV??F?R??vW7FVB?7F?26W6W2?V?W&?W2?V?F?6??6W&?2???6?VF??r??FW7F???&??6?vR?&VGV6VB?WG&?V?B'6?'F????B???WG&?F????7Vff?6F????V?6W&F???2??"7F'fF??????vW7FVB?7F?72&V?V6RF???26???V?G2???6?VF??r??6???&??FVB&??V???2?v??6???67V?V?FR????FW&??F?77VW2?7V6?F????2???VBF?F??????r?bVvw6?V??2?F?77VRF?vR??"FWf?F???g&???GW&?&V?f??'2?v???VF????v?V??R?F?R?W7F????&????v?6?'V??WF??( 2?V?&W"?( 2FV6V?&W"#0??