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Home , Bunaken, Sipadan

TURTLES will it take to bring them back? them bring to take it will turtles marine of populations entire the Triangle, Coral Across are being wiped out. What What out. wiped being are

governments and communities for a new rescue plan to save them.

the Coral Triangle, Coral the businesses, from support rallying is WWF

Withworld’s the of six navigating species turtle marine seven

species of marine turtles. marine of species

as tuna, whales, dolphins, rays, sharks, and six of the seven seven the of six and sharks, rays, dolphins, whales, tuna, as

3000 3000

ocean ocean

most most

TRIANGLE L G N A I R T L A R O C E H T

diverse marine region on the planet, covering 6 million km million 6 covering planet, the on region marine diverse

species

across six countries countries six across

of reef ﬁ reef of commercially and sh

in the Indo-Paciﬁ c region. Indo-Paciﬁregion. c the in

—t

he nursery of the seas—is the the seas—is the of nursery he

-valuable -valuable

species such such species

It is home to to home is It

known known

2 of of

source of income. of source

who come to admire admire to come who

For local residents, the ﬂ the residents, local For visitors of ow

Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands. Solomon the and Indonesia,

Island in Eastern Malaysia, Bunaken in in Bunaken Malaysia, Eastern in Island

in the Western the in Sipadan Philippines,

tourists tourists

sites that are visited by turtles and and turtles by visited are that sites

The Coral Coral The Triangle breathtaking hosts

also draw visitors from around the world.

traditional, and social social and traditional,

Not only do turtles have major cultural, cultural, major have turtles do only Not

lobster, species. other countless and

valuable species such as shrimp, shrimp, as such species valuable

reefs which are home to commercially– to home are which reefs

the health of seagrass beds and coral coral and beds seagrass of health the

For example, turtles help to maintain maintain to help turtles example, For

Coral Coral Triangle’s ecosystems. fragile

Turtles the in link fundamental a are

so special? so

What makes turtles turtles makes What

such as as such alike, Tubbataha Reef

turtles is a vital vital a is turtles

signiﬁ they cance,

ENDANGERED CRITICALLY Eretmochelys imbricata Hawksbill ENDANGERED Chelonia mydas Green turtle DATA DEFICIENT DATA Natator depressus Flatback ENDANGERED CRITICALLY Dermochelys coriacea Leatherback ENDANGERED Caretta caretta Loggerhead ENDANGERED Lepdochelys olivacea Olive ridley

nesting turtles nesting Mean daily daily Mean

shrimp trawlsand tunalonglines. killed everyyear fromaccidentalcatchin estimated thatasmany7,700 turtlesare into thefuture.InIndonesiaalone, itis Ocean—hardly enoughtosustain thespecies estimated toremainacrossthe entirePacifi c adult nestingleatherbackfemales are • • • • • • several factorsthreatenallturtlespecies: of vanishingfromthePacifi c Ocean.IntheCoral Triangle, decades, leatherbackandloggerheadmarineturtlesareatrisk Because ofdramaticdeclinesinnestingturtlesthelasttwo Deadly threatsateverylifestage is morethanone-thirdofthewayaroundworld. turtles travelacrosstheentirePacifi c Oceanbetweenfeedingandnestinggrounds—ajourneythat same beachwheretheywereborndecadesago.Forexample,theleatherbackandloggerhead Marine turtlescanundertakemigrationsofupto12,000km,butunfailinglycomebacktotheexact A lifetimeofgreatjourneys turtles, deadordying. Today, asfew2,300 pulling outfi sh catchesbutalsothousands of At sea,longlinefi shing boatsarenot only

100

150

200

250

nesting turtles

Decreasing numbers of 50

Climate change Disease Pollution (coastal tourism,industrialdevelopment) Habitat destructionandalteration Bycatch (trawlers,longlines,gillnets) (meat, eggs,shell,leather, curios) Illegal tradeanddirectconsumption

1950

1970s

on Sangalaki Island, East Borneo

1993

2002

an numberdaily of

2003

Y ears

Source: WWF-TNC Joint Programme Berau Developmental

(30–50 years) (30–50 y (30–50 migration (5–20 years) Lost years

Hatchlings

ear

hlings s) foraging areas Adult females return to Coastal shallow water foraging (immature and adult turtles) migration at 2–8 years

Breeding

Mating areas

Ma Ma

mating areas

ting ar ar ting ting

eas eas

ter s)

The benefi ts of saving marine turtles go far beyond simply protecting these remarkable species. Conservation efforts will make fi sheries more sustainable and provide benefi ts for small coastal communities. But to be effective, turtle conservation calls for protection of the full range of destinations visited by turtles during their life cycle— places such as beaches, seagrass meadows, coral reefs, open ocean, and migratory pathways that cover several countries. This is exactly what the WWF Coral Triangle Programme is striving to achieve through Marine Protected Areas and reduction of turtle bycatch in fi sheries. /WWF-Canon FREUND Jürgen

WWF’s Coral Triangle Programme

WWF’s Coral Triangle Programme is focused on securing the health of the region’s natural resources and the WWF-Canon / millions of livelihoods that depend on it. We are working to ensure that proper environmental, political and socio- economic management is put in place

© Michel GUNTHER towards: • Building a sustainable live reef food Objectives fi sh trade • Promoting sustainable tuna fi sheries • By 2020, 50 percent of turtle major nesting, foraging and inter-nesting habitats, and • Financing marine protected areas key migratory pathways for priority species in the Coral Triangle are protected. • Protecting marine turtles and • By 2020, turtle mortality due to bycatch of leatherbacks and green turtles in tuna reducing their bycatch longline, and coastal fi sheries near major nesting beaches, is reduced by at least • Reducing the impacts of climate change 50 percent against 2008 levels.

www.panda.org/coraltriangle/turtles /WWF-Canon FREUND Jürgen

Lida Pet-Soede Matheus Halim Leader Turtle Strategy Leader

WWF Coral Triangle Programme WWF Coral Triangle Programme

Tel/Fax +62 361 730185 Tel +62 21 576 1070 /WWF-Canon Email [email protected] Email [email protected] FREUND

Printed in September 2009 on 100% recycled paper Jürgen