Status of Sea Turtles and Their Habitats in South Central & Southern

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Status of Sea Turtles and Their Habitats in South Central & Southern Status of sea turtles and their habitats in South central & Southern provinces of Vietnam Cuong The Chu INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE About IUCN IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,300 Member organisations and some 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards. IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development. Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well- being. www.iucn.org https://twitter.com/IUCN/ Status of sea turtles and their habitats in South central & Southern provinces of Vietnam 1 Cuong The Chu 1 Institute of Marine Environment and Resources (IMER) The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) or the Institute of Marine Environment and Resources (IMER) or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this report belong only to the authors and shall not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, IMER, nor admit any commercial branding and procedure. This report has been made possible in part by the generous support of Marine Turtle Conservation Fund (MTCF), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. Copyright: ©2019, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this report for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Citation: Chu, T.C. (2019). Report: Status of sea turtles and their habitats in south central & southern provinces of Viet Nam. Hanoi, Viet Nam: IUCN Viet Nam Country Office. 50pp. Front cover photo: A sea turtle in Con Dao National Park, Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, Viet Nam © Nguyen Hai Van/IUCN Viet Nam Back cover photo: A sea turtle heading back to the ocean in Con Dao National Park, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, Viet Nam © Le Phuong Tung/IUCN Viet Nam Layout by: Nguyen Thuy Anh & Nguyen Son Tra Available from: IUCN Viet Nam Country Office 1st Floor, 2A Building, Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound 298 Kim Ma Street, Ba Dinh District Hanoi city, Viet Nam Tel : ++(844) 37261575/6 (Ext: 131) www.iucn.org/vietnam TABLE OF CONTENT I. INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 Sea Turtle Conservation Status 4 1.2 Study Activities: 6 II. METHODOLOGY 7 2.1. Date and locations 7 2.2. Methodology 9 Interviews 9 Boat-based observations 9 Seagrass Beds 9 Coral reefs 10 III. RESULTS 11 3.1. Sea turtle nesting population 11 3.2. Sea turtle foraging populations 17 3.3. Status of coral reefs and seagrass beds 19 IV. THE THREATS TO SEA TURTLES AND THEIR HABITATS 31 4.1. Illegal catching 31 4.2. Habitat degradatin 32 4.3. The impacts related to economic activities 32 4.4. Increases in temperature due to climate change 33 4.5. Sea level rise 35 V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 37 VI. REFERENCES 39 I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Sea Turtle Conservation Status Sea turtles are one of the oldest creatures on earth, appearing about 150 million years ago. Currently, there are 7 species of sea turtles within two families, Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae. This includes the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas and Chelonia mydas agassizii), Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), Kempi Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta), Flatback Turtle (Natator depressus) and Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). Sea turtles are distributed across many tropical and subtropical regions, in warm waters, and in most oceans. Some species are even specific to one body of water. For example, the Flatback Turtle is found only in Eastern and Northeast Australia and the Kempi Turtle is found only in the Gulf of Mexico. For decades, sea turtle populations have been exploited for their meat and carapaces. Turtle meat is used in specialty food dishes while their carapaces are sold as decoration to tourists. Turtle populations are being decimated within their coastal habitats and on land. Coastal habitats are in danger due to uncontrolled fishing, unsafe fishing methods such as trawl nets, gill nets and long-line fishing, environmental pollution, degradation of seagrass beds, and the destruction of coral reefs. On land, the presence of humans on the offshore islands, the impact of light, waste, and noise pollution from boat engines, coastal erosion, and natural disasters such as floods and typhoons also contribute to the decline of sea turtle populations. However, calculating a precise number for the global sea turtle population is difficult due to measurement methods that are proved to be inaccurate. One such method is to count the number of females laying on beaches, but as males and juveniles do not frequent beaches, it is difficult to estimate their numbers in the wild. Compared to the populations of the 1930s, when sea turtles first began to be studied and documented, the number of Green turtles has decreased by at least 43% (Seminoff, 2004), Olive Ridley and Kempii turtles have been reduced by 50-60%, and Leatherbacks and Hawksbill turtles have decreased by nearly 80% (Mortimer & Donnelly, 2008; Spotila et al., 1996). 4 The decline of all these sea turtle populations have resulted in their listing on the IUCN Redlist (List of endangered wildlife species) (Group, 1996). Vietnam is located in the western region of the East Sea/ Pacific Ocean with a total coastline of more than 3,450 km (includes the coastline inside and outside coastal areas, islands, and archipelagoes). With a total population of more than 97.5 million and land area of 310,060 km2 (315 people/km2), Vietnam is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with nearly 55% of the inhabitants concentrated in coastal areas (August 2019). The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers an area of about 1 million km2 (UNLOS, 1982) and more than 3,200 islands, many among them remain unnamed (includes floating and submerged islands). Due to the location, geography, and climate of Vietnam's waters, it achieves a high level of biodiversity compared to other countries and regions around the world. Biodiversity at the level of diversity in species structure and composition, ecosystems, and genetics. Vietnam's waters are unique. Influenced by diurnal and semi-diurnal tides, its waters include more than 20 types of ecosystems that are renewable and highly productive, such as mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds, coastal tidal flats, coastal sandy beaches, lagoon systems. According to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 45/QĐ- TTg “Approval for the master plan of nation-wide biodiversity conservation by 2020, with a vision to 2030”, the total number conservation areas (both inland and sea) under the new law has increased to 219, of which there are 10 MPAs have been established including Cat Ba, Bach Long Vy, Con Co, Cu Lao Cham, Ly Son, Nha Trang Bay, Nui Chua, Hon Cau, Con Dao, Phu Quoc and 4 other MPAs have been planned: Hon Me, Hai Van - Son Cha, Phu Quy, Nam Yet. In Vietnam, five species of sea turtles have been recorded including the Green Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Olive Ridley, Loggerhead, and Leatherback. Research and studies on sea turtles in Vietnam still remain very limited. The first records of sea turtles distributed in Vietnam were published by Bouret R. (1941). According to this report, there are five species of sea turtles distributed throughout the coast of Vietnam and four species distributed in the Paracel Islands. From 1999 to 2008, international organizations and NGOs such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Trade Records Analysis of Flora and Fauna in 5 Commerce (TRAFFIC) in collaboration with the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Ministry of Fisheries (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), and Vietnamese research agencies, conducted research on the state of sea turtles. This research was conducted to protect sea turtles at spawning sites and develop a Sea Turtle Conservation Plan in Vietnam. The research conducted on sea turtles in Con Dao National Park (Ba Ria - Vung Tau), Nui Chua (Ninh Thuan) and other coastal locations across Vietnam showed that the populations of sea turtles and their nesting locations have been significantly reduced (Hamman et al., 2006). As a result of this research, all species of sea turtles in Vietnam have been included in the list of protected species by law (Decree No. 160/2013/ND-CP dated November 12, 2013): “Criteria to determine species and the regime of managing species under lists of endangered, precious and rare species prioritized protection”.
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