Charter and Head Boat Angler Interactions with Sea Turtl

This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed—in whole or in part—for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this offeror as a result of—or in connection with—the submission of these data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government’s right to use information contained in these data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in all sheets.

Charter Boat and
Head Boat Angler Interactions with Sea Turtles

May 2013

Collection of these data is necessary to fulfill statutory requirements of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq.). Data will be used to inform NMFS protected species managers and will be used in agency documents, such as ESA Section 7 Biological Opinions and other regulatory documents.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 10 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other suggestions for reducing this burden to Jennifer Lee, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, St. Petersburg, FL.

This is a voluntary survey, and responses are kept confidential as required NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, Confidentiality of Fisheries Statistics, and will not be released for public use except in aggregate statistical form without identification as to its source. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subjected to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I haven’t had any interactions with sea turtles during my fishing trips. Should I still respond to the survey?

A: Yes. It is important that everyone who receives this questionnaire complete it and return it. For this survey to be scientific, we need basic information from all individuals selected for the survey whether they have ever had any interactions with sea turtles or not.

Q: Who is sponsoring the survey, and how will the information be used?

A: This study is being sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA’s mission is to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation’s needs. The data will be used to better understand anglers’ interactions with sea turtles to improve our ability to provide protection to sea turtles.

Q: How much time will this survey take?

A: On average, it should take less than 10 minutes to complete, including reviewing instructions and answering the questions.

Q: I have other questions. Who can I talk to?

A: Questions about completing this questionnaire can be directed to Jennifer Lee at 1-800-XXXX or by emailing [email protected].

Sea Turtle Identification Guide

The survey questions ask you to differentiate between leatherback and hard-shelled sea turtles. Please use the diagrams and descriptive text below to help you answer those specific questions. If you didn’t see the sea turtle clearly or you are not sure what type of sea turtle you saw, please reply “Not Sure,” as specified for the question.

Leatherback		Hard-shell
Leatherback turtles: Leatherback turtles are differentiated from other sea turtles by the lack of hard bony shell. Instead, their back is covered by black leathery skin with a series of 7 ridges that run from head to tail. These are the largest of all sea turtles and their shells may be up to 5 or 6 feet long.		Hard-shell turtles: The body of hard-shell turtles is covered with a shell made of hard, keratinized plates called “scutes.” The shell of a hard-shelled turtle may be covered in algae or barnacles, and may be orange/red, brown, gray, or black. These sea turtles may have shells up to 2 or 3 feet long.

May 2013

Survey Questions

Part I

Please answer questions 1-4g below about any charter or head boat fishing trips you have taken during the 2 month period between May and June 2013.

1. How many charter boat or head boat trips did you take in May and June 2013 including the trip when you were originally surveyed?

2. D id you hook and/or entangle a sea turtle in your fishing gear on any trips in May or June 2013?

	Yes  Continue to Q3
	No  Skip to Part II, Q5

2. How many sea turtles did you hook or entangle?

2. F or each sea turtle interaction, please respond to the questions 4a -4g in the table provided on the next page by selecting the correct answer. One column should be completed for each individual sea turtle. For example, if three sea turtle interactions occurred, three columns should be completed. If you have had more than 4 sea turtle interactions, please contact Jennifer Lee at 1-800 -XXXX or by emailing [email protected] and you will be provided with an additional table to fill out.

Questions	Turtle #1	Turtle #2	Turtle #3	Turtle #4
4a. Was the sea turtle a leatherback or hard-shelled sea turtle?	Leatherback Hard-shelled Not Sure	Leatherback Hard-shelled Not Sure	Leatherback Hard-shelled Not Sure	Leatherback Hard-shelled Not Sure
4b. Was the sea turtle hooked, entangled in line, or both hooked and entangled?	Hooked Entangled Hooked and Entangled Not Sure	Hooked Entangled Hooked and Entangled Not Sure	Hooked Entangled Hooked and Entangled Not Sure	Hooked Entangled Hooked and Entangled Not Sure
4c. If hooked, or both hooked and entangled, where on the sea turtle was it hooked? See below for definitions of the bolded words.	External Inside Mouth Swallowed Not Sure Not Hooked	External Inside Mouth Swallowed Not Sure Not Hooked	External Inside Mouth Swallowed Not Sure Not Hooked	External Inside Mouth Swallowed Not Sure Not Hooked
4d. If hooked, or hooked and entangled, was the hook removed?	Yes No Not Sure Not Hooked	Yes No Not Sure Not Hooked	Yes No Not Sure Not Hooked	Yes No Not Sure Not Hooked
4e. Was all the line removed from the sea turtle?	Yes No If No: amount of line remaing (feet)_________ Not Sure	Yes No If No: amount of line remaing (feet)_________ Not Sure	Yes No If No: amount of line remaing (feet)_________ Not Sure	Yes No If No: amount of line remaing (feet)_________ Not Sure
4f. Was the sea turtle released alive or dead?	Alive Dead Not Sure	Alive Dead Not Sure	Alive Dead Not Sure	Alive Dead Not Sure
4g. Is there any additional information you would like to share about your interaction with the sea turtle(s)? If referencing a specific event, please indicate which # sea turtle you are referring to. For example, did you attempt to de-hook or disentangle the sea turtle, but were not able to?

Part II

Questions 5-10 below ask for your experiences during any charter and head boat recreational fishing trips you have taken in the past 12 months. Do not include any fishing trips discussed in questions 1-4g. Please answer only on your charter boat and head boat fishing experiences, not on other recreational fishing experiences (i.e. Not pier or private boat fishing).

2. Not including the fishing trip discussed in questions 1-4g, how many recreational charter or head boat fishing trips have you taken in the past 12 months?

2. Did you hook or entangle a sea turtle on any charter boat or head boat fishing trips in the past 12 months? Do not include any sea turtles reported in questions 1-4g.

	Yes  Continue to Q7
	No  Skip to Q11

7. How many sea turtles did you hook or entangle in the past 12 months? Please indicate the specific number of each type of turtle in the boxes below. Do not include any sea turtles reported in in questions 1-4g. Please refer to the Sea Turtle Information Guide on page 2 to help identify the type of turtle you saw. Of the sea turtle interactions you reported above, how many were (if none write “0”):

Leatherback turtles
Hard-shelled turtles
Unknown (Not sure about type)

8. Do you recall what month(s) the interaction(s) occurred?

9. Please provide any details you can recall on each event (e.g., Where did the interaction occur? Was the sea turtle alive or dead? Was the sea turtle released free of gear?)

Part III

Questions 10-12 below ask about any recreational fishing experiences you have had in your lifetime, that are not already described in questions 1-9 (i.e., during any trips taken in your lifetime before July 2012)

10. Thinking about your history of recreational fishing, have you ever hooked or entangled a sea turtle?

	Yes
	No

11. What type of recreational fishing were you participating in when you interacted with the sea turtle(s)? Check all options that apply below.

	Charter boat
	Head boat
	Pier
	Private boat
	Shore
	Other, please specify:
	Not Sure

12. Please provide any details you can recall on each event (e.g. Where and when did the interaction occur? Was the sea turtle alive or dead? Was the sea turtle released free of gear?)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE.

Please return this form in the postage paid envelope provided or mail to: [insert name and address]