Sea turtles and boating activities often occur in shared waters. This is problematic because sea turtles are susceptible to vessel strikes since they spend significant portions of their lives in nearshore shallow water to breathe, reproduce, and feed. Targeted conservation strategies are needed to reduce vessel strikes on sea turtles, and successful integration of stakeholder perspectives is necessary for conservation success. Here, we present results from a multi-step approach to investigate responses to potential conservation interventions for reducing vessel strikes on sea turtles. First, challenges and opportunities related to potential interventions that could be used to reduce sea turtle vessel strikes were discussed and assessed by a workshop of conservation and enforcement experts. Second, the workshop-identified interventions were incorporated into a survey questionnaire for recreational boaters. Third, this face-to-face survey was administered around the St. Lucie Inlet, an area identified as a vessel strike “hot spot” in Florida (USA). The questionnaire asked about boating preferences and practices, existing and potential conservation interventions, and sea turtle presence in the area. Respondents suggested that greater community support for implementation of interventions would be obtained if they (1) were voluntary rather than mandatory/legislated, (2) overlapped with existing interventions (e.g., if speed mitigation zones for sea turtles overlapped significantly with existing speed reduction zones for manatees) and/or added minimal new restrictions and inconveniences, and (3) were accompanied by explanatory materials on the need for, and the effectiveness of, such management strategies. Boater buy-in for management strategies and compliance can vary significantly. As such, our exploratory study should be replicated where proposed sea turtle conservation-related strategies might be warranted to ensure proper contextual fit. Boaters are a powerful, integral, and a growing demographic that must be effectively and respectfully engaged for effective sea turtle conservation in Florida and beyond.

海龟和划船活动经常发生在共享水域中。这是有问题的，因为海龟很容易遭受船只的袭击，因为它们的大部分时间都生活在近岸浅水中呼吸，繁殖和觅食。需要有针对性的保护策略来减少海龟对船只的袭击，成功地整合利益相关者的观点对于保护成功是必要的。在这里，我们从多步骤方法中得出结果，以调查对减少海龟船只罢工的潜在保护措施的反应。首先，由保护和执法专家研讨会讨论和评估了与可用于减少海龟船只罢工的潜在干预措施有关的挑战和机遇。第二，研讨会确定的干预措施已纳入休闲船员的调查问卷中。第三，这项面对面的调查是在圣露西湾（St. Lucie Inlet）周围进行的，圣露西湾被确定为美国佛罗里达州的船只罢工“热点”。问卷调查了有关划船的偏好和做法，现有和潜在的保护措施以及该地区海龟的存在情况。受访者建议，如果（1）是自愿的，而不是强制性/立法的，（2）与现有干预措施重叠（例如，海龟减缓区与现有减速区明显重叠），则将获得社区更大程度的支持，以实施干预措施对于海牛）和/或添加了最少的新限制和不便之处，（3）附带说明材料，说明此类管理策略的必要性和有效性。划船者的管理策略和合规性可以有很大的不同。因此，我们的探索性研究应重复进行，以保证拟议的海龟保护相关策略可以确保适当的背景适应。划船者是一个强大的，不可或缺的，并且在不断增长的人口统计资料，必须对此进行有效和尊重的参与，以在佛罗里达州及以后地区有效地保护海龟。