Regarding your March 15 editorial, I am not certain that listing the loggerhead sea turtle as an endangered species will ensure its survival. The latest status review of the loggerhead turtle, published in August under the Endangered Species Act, lists as the first threat to the species the destruction of nesting habitat caused by coastal development. Your editorial talked about commercial fishing. The scientists writing the status review include other threats to the species.
Commercial fishermen are willing to adapt the way they do business in order to save these magnificent animals. We would ask only that other players in the game step up to the plate and change the way they operate in our coastal environment.
Worldwide, the report says that development and population growth in and around coastal areas continue to be a major problem. This development and increased population alters in some degree nesting habitat, making it "less suitable for nesting females." Let all of us who affect the turtles share in arriving at solutions to ensure the survival of all coastal species.
Ellen Gaskill
Beaufort