Environmentalists: Loggerhead turtles need more protection (AP/CNN)

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two environmental groups are asking the Interior Department to declare loggerhead sea turtles that inhabit the Atlantic coast officially endangered, maintaining that tens of thousands of the turtles are killed annually by commercial fishing and because of coastal development.

The loggerhead sea turtle already is classified as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act, but environmentalists say a higher level of protection is needed for the turtles that nest primarily along the southern Atlantic coast and to some extent off the Gulf coast of Florida.

Oceana, a sea life advocacy group, and the Center for Biological Diversity will file a petition with the Interior Department and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Thursday asking that the Western Atlantic Sea Turtle be declared a sub-specie and officially endangered.

The designation would provide the turtle and its habitat increased protection under the Endangered Species Act.

"Loggerhead sea turtles in the western Atlantic are in grave peril. ... Their numbers have plummeted to historic lows," says the petition, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/11/15/threatened.turtle.ap/index.html