Bialogiml Con.<nvation 30 ( 1984) 41-67 The Status of Marine Turtles in the Egyptian Red Sea J. Frazier & S. Salas of Zoological Research, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20008. USA ABSTRACT Five -•pecie.1· of marine turtle 01·cur in the Egyptian Red Sea and three are recognised by /o,·alfishrrmen: Eretmochelys imbricata (L.), Chelonia mydas (L.), and Dermochelys coriacea (L.). The last named is rarely sighted, and although the other two nest, only Eretmochelys is common; po.•sihly 500 nest yearly, mainly 011 offshore islands. Borh nesting and feding habitats appear ro be exrensirefor this spCl'ies. but clutches hare tm unusually high perce11tagc of yo I/.: less eggs. Th" signifirance of this is 1101 understood, bui it indicatcs that the animals are under pressures not nperienced in other parts of their range. The small population of Chelonia is probably due to the srnrcity of feeding habitat; marine pus tu res are generally small in area and sranding crop. Derrnochelys may be rarely sighred because local fishermen in.fi-equemly l'enture i1110 cpipelogic waters where this animal is most common, but the ai·ailable data indirnte that the species isa i-agrant in EgJpt. The enormous swarms (Jf/ellyjish rhat occur in the Egyptian Red Sea cl'idently do not attract the.1·e turrles, although seasonal concentrations of jdlyfish are often a('('ompanied by Derrnochclys in other seas. Exploitation qf' turtles, mainlyJor meat and eggs, is slight, but habitat perturbations are intense from oil pollution and marine explosions. Therr' is a gr1?at need/or more basic infi1rmation and rigorous management of the marine environmcll/. INTRODUCTION Little is documented on sea turtles in the Egyptian Red Sea; some of the classic studies of the area (e.g., Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, 1809; Anderson, 41 Biol. Conserv. 0006-3207/84/$03·00 {!Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1984. Printed in Great Britain