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Florida Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (FLSTSSN): Reports and Data

The FLSTSSN gathers data on dead, sick, or injured (i.e., stranded) sea turtles found in Florida. Current data detailing the numbers of stranded sea turtles found in Florida are available in a variety of formats.

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This network functions as a part of an eighteen-state network led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In Florida, strandings are documented by the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) staff biologists and by a network of permitted participants located around the state.

Live strandings are rescued and transported to properly permitted rehabilitation facilities. Strandings data collected on a standardized reporting form include date, species, location, carapace length and width, carcass condition, carcass disposition, and information on anomalies (e.g., entanglement, propeller damage, and fibropapillomas).

Additionally, certain carcasses are collected by FWRI staff for gross or detailed necropsy. Each week, FWRI reports Florida strandings to NMFS as a part of a management plan intended to reduce the incidental take of turtles in the shrimp fishery.

FWRI also generates weekly stranding summary reports to monitor mortality and to detect and describe any unusual stranding events. Stranding data collected through the Florida Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) have been used extensively in the identification of mortality factors and in the development of recovery actions (e.g., Turtle Excluder Device requirements and gill net regulations).

PDF Files

• Map of Florida: Location of Sea Turtle Stranding Report Zones and Counties (10 KB)
• Zone Trends Graphs (18 KB)
• Weekly Zone Evaluation (208 KB)

To view these files, you will need Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.

GIS Map of Statewide Turtle Stranding Data on the the Marine Resources GIS (MRGIS) data page. The link to the MRGIS Internet Map Server is at the bottom of the MRGIS IMS article. To make a map of turtle data, select " turtles" as current map view, and navigate using menu on the left side.

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