Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean and Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman An evaluation of sea turtle strandings in the Fethiye-Göcek Specially Protected Area: An important foraging ground with an increasing mortality rate Eyup Başkale a,b,* , Doğan Sözbilen b,c , Yusuf Katılmış a,b , Musa Azmaz b,c , Yakup Kaska a,b a Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts & Science, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey b Sea Turtle Research Centre (DEKAMER), Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey c Acıpayam Vocational School, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Stranding Fethiye-Göcek specially protected area Foraging ground Caretta caretta Chelonia mydas Bycatch ABSTRACT The Fethiye-Göcek Specially Protected Area (SPA) is an important protected area in Turkey that includes im- portant loggerhead turtle nesting beaches and marine habitats for sea turtles. Here, we analysed the number of stranded loggerhead and green sea turtles in the Fethiye-Göcek SPA, Turkey. A total of 139 dead sea turtles (102 loggerhead and 37 green turtles) were found between the years 2000 and 2016. The majority of stranded log- gerheads were considered to be adults (77.45%), while the majority of stranded green turtles were immature individuals (86.49%). Mean annual strandings were 6.0 individuals for loggerhead turtles and 2.2 individuals for green turtles. The main cause of strandings was determined as incidental catch in fishing gear (51% for log- gerhead turtle, 41% for green turtle) and marine vehicle collisions (23% for loggerhead turtle and 27% for green turtles). Strandings were encountered all year round. These results suggest that the Fethiye-Göcek SPA should not be only considered as a seasonal nesting ground for loggerhead turtles, but also a year-round feeding ground for both species. An increase in the number of stranded turtles in the study area suggests that negative an- thropogenic effects on sea turtle populations are relatively high and that conservation and monitoring efforts on the nesting beaches are not sufficient to protect sea turtle populations. Research is required to identify the fisheries' segments and metiers responsible for sea turtle mortality in order to develop bycatch mitigation, prioritising the marine habitats of the Fethiye-Göcek SPA. 1. Introduction Three sea turtle species occur regularly in the Mediterranean; Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)(Baran and Kasparek, 1989; Taşkavak and Farkas, 1998; Casale et al., 2003; Türkozan and Kaska, 2010). Loggerhead and green turtles both breed in the Mediterranean, while leatherback turtles from the Atlantic use the region only for foraging (Kasparek et al., 2001; Margaritoulis et al., 2003; Camiñas, 2004). Loggerhead turtles are the most abundant sea turtle species in the Mediterranean (Broderick et al., 2002). The main loggerhead nesting areas are in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Libya (Kasparek et al., 2001; Margaritoulis et al., 2003; Canbolat, 2004; Casale and Margaritoulis, 2010) and the main foraging areas are along the North African, Adriatic and north-eastern Ionian continental shelves (Casale and Margaritoulis, 2010; Luschi and Casale, 2014; Stokes et al., 2015). Green turtle habitats are restricted, with a more easterly distribution. The main green turtle nesting areas are in Turkey, Cyprus and Syria (Kasparek et al., 2001; Canbolat, 2004; Rees et al., 2008; Casale and Margaritoulis, 2010) with discrete foraging areas on the coasts of Libya, Egypt, the Levant, Cyprus and Turkey (Stokes et al., 2015; Bradshaw et al., 2017). Every species of sea turtle is protected by international regulations and conventions (Barcelona, 1976; Bern, 1979; Bonn, 1979). The known nesting species in Turkey are: the loggerhead turtle, which is listed as Least Concern (LC) as a conservation dependant regional subunit in the Mediterranean, and the green turtle, which is listed as Endangered (EN) by IUCN (IUCN, 2017). The main threats to sea turtle populations are coastal development (Ilgaz et al., 2007) and natural predation (Erk'akan, 1993; Broderick & Godley, 1996), incidental catch and intentional killings by fishers (Casale, 2011), and marine vehicle collision (Denkinger et al., 2013; Casale and Margaritoulis, 2010). En- tanglement in plastic marine debris is likely a major source of mortality (Duncan et al., 2017). Incidental catch is considered to be the main https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.01.003 Received 10 August 2017; Received in revised form 27 December 2017; Accepted 2 January 2018 * Corresponding author. Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts & Science, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey. E-mail addresses: ebaskale@pau.edu.tr, eyupbaskale@gmail.com (E. Başkale). Ocean and Coastal Management 154 (2018) 26–33 0964-5691/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T