A Recent Survey of the Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) in Belize Thomas R. Rainwater, Ph.D. 1447 Indian St. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 29464 United States of America Tom Pop Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE) P. O. Box 129, Punta Gorda Toledo District, Belize Octavio Cal Ya’axché Conservation Trust P. O. Box 177, Punta Gorda Toledo District, Belize Steven G. Platt, Ph.D. Department of Biology, P.O. Box C-64 Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas 79832 United States of America Rick Hudson President, Turtle Survival Alliance Fort Worth Zoo 1989 Colonial Parkway Fort Worth, Texas 76110 United States of America Report to: Belize Fisheries Department Princess Margaret Drive P.O. Box 148 Belize City Belize, Central America 4 December 2010 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY We conducted a country-wide survey of the Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) in Belize during April and May, 2010. Dermatemys, locally known as “hickatee”, was once abundant throughout its limited distribution in southern Mexico, northern Guatemala and Belize. However, after decades of intense over-exploitation for its meat and eggs, Dermatemys has been virtually eliminated from much of its former range in Mexico, and its status in Guatemala remains unclear. A country-wide survey conducted in Belize during the early 1980s found that Dermatemys was still common to abundant in areas sparsely populated by humans but declining in more developed areas where turtles were more accessible to hunters. Additional surveys in the 1990s indicated that while some Dermatemys populations persisted in remote localities, unsustainable harvesting continued in more populated areas. From 12 April to 31 May, we surveyed approximately 30 localities in Belize for Dermatemys, 17 of which had previously been surveyed in the early 1980s. Overall, results of the survey indicate Dermatemys is heavily depleted in most of Belize, but healthy populations remain in a few remote areas, especially those receiving some level of protection. While this mirrors the trend observed in surveys conducted during the 1980s and 1990s, the current findings are particularly alarming in that the number of localities where turtles were seen and the number of turtles seen at these localities were both much reduced compared to previous surveys. In addition, large turtles (reproductive adults) are generally targeted during harvests, significantly reducing the most demographically important segment of the population. Further, interviews with fisherman and hunters indicate that laws and regulations enacted for the protection and management of Dermatemys are largely ignored by locals, as broad-scale enforcement is difficult to impossible. We regard the current level of Dermatemys harvesting in Belize as unsustainable and consider it a serious threat to the continued viability of Dermatemys populations in the country. Based on the results of our survey, we provide the following conservation recommendations for Dermatemys in Belize: 1. Increase law enforcement to curb illegal harvest of Dermatemys and other wildlife and protect riparian habitats. Priority should be given to localities where Dermatemys is still common to abundant. 2. Initiate more extensive surveys to better determine the status of Dermatemys in Belize and prioritize localities for more intensive protection. Surveys should be a collaborative effort between the Belizean government, university faculty and students, NGOs, and other interested parties. 3. Initiate a conservation education program, particularly in towns and villages adjacent to Dermatemys habitat. This education program should attempt to raise public awareness of 2 wildlife conservation, inform villagers of the protected status of wildlife in Belize, instill general conservation values, and stress the global uniqueness of Dermatemys (its endemism). 4. Initiate a pilot captive breeding program. Such a program should focus on generating hatchlings that can be head-started and released to help restore depleted wild populations. 3 INTRODUCTION The Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) is found along the coastal lowlands of southern Mexico, northern Guatemala and Belize (Alvarez del Toro, 1979; Iverson and Mittermeier, 1980; Iverson, 1986; Ernst and Barbour, 1989; Lee, 1996) and is the lone surviving representative of the family Dermatemydidae (Iverson and Mittermeier, 1980). Throughout its restricted range Dermatemys has been intensely harvested for its meat and to a lesser extent its eggs and shell (Moll, 1986; Polisar, 1994, 1995). As a result, Dermatemys has been virtually eliminated from much of its former range in southern Mexico, while its status in Guatemala remains unclear (Polisar, 1994). Currently, Dermatemys is considered one of the world’s most heavily exploited turtles and is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and listed on Appendix II of CITES (CITES, 2009; IUCN, 2009; USFWS, 2009). In Belize, a country-wide survey of Dermatemys (locally known as “hickatee”) conducted in 1983 and 1984 found that the species was still common to abundant in areas sparsely populated by humans but declining in more developed areas where turtles were more accessible to hunters (Moll, 1986). Additional research conducted in north-central Belize from 1989 through 1991 indicated that exploitation of Dermatemys persisted in more populated areas and that the level of harvesting was not sustainable (Polisar, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997; Polisar and Horwich, 1994). As a result, in 1993 the Belize Fisheries Department drafted nationwide comprehensive legislation for the protection and management of Dermatemys which included year-round possession limits, a brief closed (non-hunting) season, a complete prohibition on selling and purchasing Dermatemys, and a series of protected zones in the major waterways of northern Belize (Polisar, 1994, 1995, 1997; Polisar and Horwich, 1994). Surveys conducted in north-central Belize in 1998 and 1999 suggested Dermatemys was still common to abundant in some remote localities but declining in more developed areas (Tony Garel, Dave Collins, unpublished data). In April and May 2010, we conducted a country-wide survey to examine the current status of Dermatemys in Belize, approximately 25 years after the first country-wide survey was conducted (Moll, 1986). The primary objectives of our survey were the following. 1. Re-survey localities previously surveyed in the early 1980s so that general comparisons of turtle abundance can be made. 2. Survey other areas not included in previous surveys, particularly in southern Belize. 3. Train Belizean team members in basic turtle survey methodology. 4. Work with the Belizean government and non-governmental organizations to stimulate country-wide interest in Dermatemys conservation. 4 The following report details field work conducted in Belize during our survey. A detailed itinerary and summary of fieldwork, list of survey participants, and summary of data obtained during interviews/discussions with respondents or incidental to surveys are presented in Appendices 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Photographs were taken by T. Rainwater unless otherwise indicated. METHODS Fieldwork in Belize (Figure 1) was conducted from 12 April to 31 May, a period coinciding with the peak of the country’s dry season (Platt et al., 2006, 2008). During this period, turtles are easier to locate because water levels are low, water bodies are relatively clear due to reduced turbidity from rain and high flow, and turtles are more concentrated in smaller areas (Polisar, 1995). Consistent with previous studies, we employed multiple survey methods including nocturnal spotlight searches, trammel netting, and diving (free and scuba) (Moll, 1986; Polisar, 1995; Garel, 1998; Collins, 1999). As stated previously, one of our primary objectives was to re-survey localities previously surveyed in the early 1980s (Figure 2). However, exact survey locations (e.g., maps or GPS coordinates) and routes from the 1980s surveys were not available. Therefore, once at the general locality previously surveyed, we based our survey routes on criteria similar to those used in the 1980s surveys, including habitat likely to contain Dermatemys and accessibility (Moll, 1986). Spotlight surveys were conducted from either a motor boat traveling at low/idling speed (Moll, 1986) or a canoe. Spotlights (3,000,000 candle power) were used during surveys conducted from motor boats, while a combination of spotlights and headlamps (6 volt) were used during surveys conducted from canoes. When circumnavigating an area (e.g., lagoon, stretch of river) only one side of the boat was surveyed (illuminated) at a time to reduce the risk of counting the same turtle multiple times in a survey. The beginning and endpoints of each survey route and the distance traversed were determined with a Garmin® GPS Map 60. Trammel nets (50 m x 3 m, mesh size = 10 cm, lead core bottom line, foam core top line; Memphis Net and Twine, Memphis, TN) were set in habitat likely to contain Dermatemys or specific localities where Dermatemys had previously been observed during spotlight surveys or by local hunters. Nets were set during both day and night, depending on the locality. Dive surveys were conducted in the Belize and Sibun Rivers only. In the Belize River, we were led by local hunters who routinely harvest Dermatemys there and surveyed (free diving