PROCEEDINGS OF THE A forum to disseminate information and to promote greater regional collaboration for research and management of Pacific sea turtle populations. February 5-8, 2002 Coordinated and edited by Irene Kinan Sponsored by WESTERN PACIFIC REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400 Honolulu, Hawaii, 96813, USA www.wpcouncil.org PREFACE This volume of papers is a record of the Western Pacific Sea Turtle Cooperative Research and Management Workshop which convened February 5-8, 2002 in Honolulu, Hawaii sponsored by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC). The participants at the workshop comprised a mix of sea turtle biologists, conservation specialists, and fishery scientists; Document Citation primarily from 18 countries of the Western and Central Pacific (Fig. 1). Kinan, I. (editor). 2002. Proceedings of the Western Pacific Sea Turtle Cooperative Research and Management Sea turtles migrate vast distances across Ocean basins, living successively in vary- Workshop. February 5–8, 2002, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. ing life stages on the high seas, and within the EEZs and coastal habitats of Honolulu, HI: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management numerous Pacific nations. Consequently a collaborative integrated approach to Council. 300 pgs. management and conservation between nations is essential for the recovery of depleted sea turtle populations in the Pacific Ocean. Due to stringent U.S. endan- Editors’ Note gered species legislation, the continued operations of U.S. pelagic fisheries in the Pacific (one fleet among many which interact with sea turtles) are contingent on The papers presented at the workshop and consequently the recovery of Pacific sea turtle populations. Workshop participants focused on contained in these proceedings have been edited for consis- five objectives with emphasis on the Western Pacific Region. tency in format; with only minor changes to language, syn- tax, and punctuation. The authors’ bibliographic, abbrevia- Workshop Objectives tion and writing styles, however, have generally been retained. Several presenters did not submit a written paper, • to facilitate collaboration and the exchange of technical information or submitted only an abstract to the meeting. In these • to identify gaps in information/ knowledge and prioritize research efforts instances, a summary was produced from transcripts of • to coordinate education and conservation techniques with management their presentations, with abstracts included when available. strategies The opinions of the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management • to synthesize guidelines for standardized data collection methodology Council or of other meeting sponsors. • to integrate the Council and its resources with existing regional sea turtle conservation action plans Workshop Sponsors Results and findings from this workshop were derived from either plenary sessions or from seven smaller working groups which focused on particular issues. The plenary sessions were designed to identify programs operating in the Western Pacific and facilitate the exchange of valuable information. The driving force of the meeting, however, was through the working groups. It was here that networking and collaboration between stakeholders was achieved, direction for University of Hawaii the Council was attained and priorities for future directed research and conser- Pelagic Fisheries Research Program vation activities were outlined for the Region. Western Pacific Sea Turtle Workshop i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Working Groups The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council would like to offer • Conservation Methods its sincerest appreciation to the invited experts for their professional presenta- • Community Empowerment tions, submitted papers and their graciously offered time, energy and resources to attend and participate in this workshop. Without the dedication of our partic- • Data Gaps ipants, this effort would not have been possible. The Council thanks you! We are • Standardized Methods: Nesting Beaches grateful to our chair, Dr. Craig Moritz from the University of California, Berkeley • Standardized Methods: Aquatic Habitats who agreed to come and preside over our meeting, and fortunate that his depart- • Involving Fishermen in Research ment of “Integrated Biology” was consistent with this workshop’s vision of • Regional Action Plans integrated management These proceedings contain the 34 presentations and/or submitted papers The Council expresses its sincerest gratitude to workshop collaborators, Dr. presented at the workshop, and the results from both the plenary sessions and Peter Dutton and Dr. Scott Eckert, and other scientific advisors, Mr. George working groups. In addition, any discussion which may have followed an oral Balazs, Dr. Colin Limpus and Dr. Milani Chaloupka for their thoughts, ideas and presentation is included at the end of each paper. Background papers submitted insights toward the development of this workshop. We thank all those who lent to the meeting, but not presented during the meeting’s plenary sessions, are a helping hand or word of advice when the search for participants began. We are included in Appendix IV. especially grateful to those who humbly declined to attend so that another could come in their place. In addition, we thank Patrick Ching for his artistic contri- bution to the logo. The Council is in debt to our working group team captains, Dr. Scott Eckert, Dr. Mark Hamann, Dr. Milani Chaloupka, Dr. Peter Dutton, Dr. Laura Sarti, Dr. Colin Limpus, Dr. Christopher Boggs and Dr. Nicolas Pilcher, whose expertise and leadership we could not have done without. The success of this workshop would not have been possible without their skill, dedication and significant contributions. In addition, appreciation and thanks are extended to the review- ers of these proceedings, specifically Kirstin Dobbs, Trina Leberer, Nicolas Pilcher, Milani Chaloupka, George Balazs, Paul Dalzell, and Jeffrey Seminoff for their time, comments and suggestions towards the completion of the final docu- ment. Finally, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council would like to thank the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Joint Institute for Marine & Atmospheric Research School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology - Pelagic Fisheries Research Program (PFRP) for their funding and support, and Figure 1. Workshop participants group photo. Photographed are those present Tuesday, for sharing in the vision of cooperative research and integrated sea turtle manage- February 5, 2002. Participant list is located in Appendix II. ment of the Western Pacific Region. Western Pacific Sea Turtle Workshop Western Pacific Sea Turtle Workshop ii iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ......................................................................................................................................................i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................iii INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................1 WORKSHOP SESSIONS: RESULTS PLENARY SESSION SUMMARY 7 PRIORITIES FOR RESEARCH IN THE REGION Colin Limpus 11 WORKING GROUP SUMMARIES 13 WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS Craig Moritz & Paul Dalzell 21 THE CENTRAL PACIFIC CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH OF SEA TURTLES IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: AN OVERVIEW George Balazs 27 SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION IN CNMI Richard Seman 31 SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION IN AMERICA SAMOA Ruth Utzurrum 33 SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION IN GUAM Veronica Cummings 37 THE WESTERN PACIFIC CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH OF SEA TURTLES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC REGION: AN OVERVIEW Colin Limpus 41 STATUS OF MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH IN MALAYSIA Hock-Chark Liew 51 MARINE TURTLE DISTRIBUTION AND MORTALITY IN THE PHILIPPINES Renato Cruz 57 Western Pacific Sea Turtle Workshop Western Pacific Sea Turtle Workshop iv v MARINE TURTLE MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION IN INDONESIA WESTERN PACIFIC FISHERIES Agus Dermawan 67 A REVIEW OF TURTLE BY-CATCH IN THE WESTERN AND POPULATION TRENDS OF LOGGERHEAD TURTLES, CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN TUNA FISHERIES CARRETTA CARRETTA, IN JAPAN Deirdre Brogan 133 Hiroyuki Suganuma 77 FISHERS AND SEA TURTLE RESEARCH AUSTRALIA GREAT BARRIER REEF WORLD HERITAGE AREA Carolyn Robins 137 Kirstin Dobbs 79 NEW RESEARCH & CURRENT INFORMATION A MESSAGE FROM THE EASTERN PACIFIC MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA CURRENT POPULATION STATUS OF DERMOCHELYS CORIACEA IN Myriam Philp 143 THE MEXICAN PACIFIC COAST SOUTHEAST ASIAN FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT CENTER’S Laura Sarti 87 ROLE IN REGIONAL MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION Kamaruddin Ibrahim 147 DEFINING MANAGEMENT UNITS SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION AT THE MOLECULAR GENETICS SABAH TURTLE ISLANDS PARK, MALAYSIA P. Dutton, D. Broderick & N. FitzSimmons 93 Paul Bastinal 151 JAMURBA-MEDI NESTING BEACH, NORTH COAST OF THE COMMUNITY BASED AWARENESS PROGRAMS BIRD’S HEAD PENINSULA, PAPUA COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT: BRINGING CULTURES TOGETHER Creusa Hitipeuw 161 Mark Hamann 105 NOTES ON GLOBAL WARMING COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT: A CASE STUDY Colin Limpus 177 WAN SMOLBAG TURTLE CONSERVATION PROGRAM, VANUATU STATUS OF SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION IN THAILAND George Petro 109 Mickmin Charuchinda 179 AWARENESS AND PARTICIPATION IN MARINE TURTLE CURRENT SEA TURTLE RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION IN TAIWAN CONSERVATION IN THE PHILIPPINES