资料：The federal government on Wednesday recommended an endangered-species psting for the loggerhead turtles in U.S. Waters, a decision that copd lead to tighter restrictions on fishing and other maritime trades.Environmental groups who’ d been pushing an endangered psting said the proposal was a “turning point”they hope will lead to greater turtle protections.

“I think it’ s huge day for loggerhead sea turtles, ”said Beth Riff, a marine wildpfe scientist at Oceana.“it really draws attention to the fact these turtles are not doing well and more needs to be done to protect them.”With all that attention to paid to them, you’d think these creatures wopd at least have the gratitude not to go extinct, but Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness.No one really knows how many loggerhead there are, or how many are being killed by fishing gear or other activities. Riff cites a 40 percent drop in the number of nesting females in Florida over the last decade as evidence of trouble.

Loggerheads are named for their large heads, which contain potent jaws that can crush the hard shells of prey such as conch. The turtles are about the size of a fist when they hatch and make a frenzied dash to the surf. But they typically grow to more than three feet in length and 250 pounds. The animal can log thousands of miles as it travels across oceans.

Barbara Schoder，national sea turtle coordinator for NOAA’s fisheries division, said the biggest threats to the North Pacific loggerhead include damage to primary nesting sites, which are mainly in Japan，as well as accidental snaring of the turtles in fishing gear. Andrea Tee of San Francisco-based Center for Biological Diversity said the turtles get hooked by Hawaiian longpne fishermen targeting swordfish and tuna and can be injured or drowned. On the East Coast, the main threat to turtles is gear from the region’s various fishenes Schoder said.

A primary benefit of the endangered status wopd be increased pubpc pressure on protecting the species, Riff said. But the government wopd also have to determine“critical habitats，”such as where the turtles reproduce or forage. Such places copd be subject to additional protections for the turtles, including restrictions on maritime development or fishing.

Like every other environmental issue today, this is playing out against the background of global warming and human interference with natural ecosystems, The narrow strips of beach on which the turtles lay their eggs are being squeezed on one side by development and on the other by threat of rising sea levels as the oceans warm. Ultimately we must get a handle on those issues as well, or a creature that outpved the dinosaurs will meet its end at the hands of humans, leaving our descendants to wonder how creature so ugly copd have won so much affection.

How does global warming affect the survival of turtles?