July 2004 Defining Parameters for Sea Turtle Research in the Marshall Islands Prepared by Mike A. McCoy Gillett, Preston and Associates Kona, Hawaii ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT AR-PIR-08-04 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Island Region 1 PACIFIC ISLANDS REGIONAL OFFICE This report is used to insure the dissemination of preliminary results, interim reports and special studies. The material is not ready for formal publication. Abstracting citing or reproduction of this information is not allowed. Contact the Pacific Islands Regional Office of the National Marine Fisheries Service if additional information is required. This paper was funded by contract NFFR5010-3-00040 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or any of its subagencies. 2 July 2004 Defining Parameters for Sea Turtle Research in the Marshall Islands Prepared by Mike A. McCoy Gillett, Preston and Associates Kona, Hawaii ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT AR-PIR-08-04 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Island Region 3 PACIFIC ISLANDS REGIONAL OFFICE Explanatory Note Sea turtle conservation and management is a major issue for the Pacific Islands Region. The incidental catch of sea turtles in the fisheries of the western and central Pacific (WCPO) have prompted some groups to call for a complete ban on certain fishing techniques. However, before imposing these sorts of management measures it is important to be able to determine whether any actions taken have the intended effect on the turtle resource. In the case of WCPO sea turtle stocks, the factors causing population declines appear to be open to debate given the dearth information on population trends, distribution, abundance and basic biology of these unique animals. For several years NOAA Fisheries has been engaged in a variety of projects to better illuminate the basic biology of the WCPO sea turtle stocks. One of the areas of research has been the extent to which these stocks have been affected by man-induced mortalities (e.g. fishing, destruction of habitat). Current activities include tagging studies, observing fishery interaction rates, beach counts, and preservation of habitat. An additional activity has been to document the current state of knowledge in Pacific Island areas for which scientific studies have been limited or non-existent. This report documents the current state of knowledge on sea turtles in the vicinity of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Importantly it documents their traditional and current use. The Marshall’s encompass a considerable ocean area of the equatorial North Pacific, yet very little is known about the turtle resources of this extensive area of atolls, islands and islets. This report provides a summary of the available knowledge. It is hoped that it will be considered by decision and policy makers when determining how scarce research dollars can be applied to ensure the sustainability of this culturally important resource for the future generations of Marshallese. I thank all of those who assisted in the production of this report, especially the five reviewers who provided comments and suggestions of various drafts. Charles Karnella, Ph.d International Fisheries Officer 4 Defining Parameters for Sea Turtle Research in the Marshall Islands Prepared by Mike A. McCoy Gillett, Preston and Associates Kona, Hawaii 5 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CMI College of the Marshall Islands EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EPPSO Economic Planning Policy and Statistics Office MIMRA Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority NGO Non-Governmental Organization nnr name not recorded NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RMI Republic of the Marshall Islands RMIEPA RMI Environmental Protection Authority SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community SPREP South Pacific Regional Environment Programme WCPO Western and Central Pacific Ocean WUTMI Women United Together in the Marshall Islands 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 9 2. BACKGROUND..................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS ....................................................... 14 2.2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW...................................................................................................... 16 3.0 ASPECTS OF GEOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY RELEVANT TO SEA TURTLES .................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1 UNINHABITED ATOLLS AND ISLANDS................................................................................. 18 3.2 INHABITED ATOLLS ............................................................................................................ 19 4. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT............................................................................. 21 4.1 CURRENT LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF SEA TURTLES ................................................................................................................................................... 21 4.1.1 Marine Resources Act of 1997 .................................................................................... 22 4.1.2 Marshall Islands Environmental Protection Act ......................................................... 23 4.1.3 Local Regulations........................................................................................................24 4.2 TRADITIONAL RIGHTS AND CONTROL OF LAND AND MARINE RESOURCES ...................... 24 4.3 ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, PLANNING, AND EXECUTION.26 4.4 IMPORTANT DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS........................................ 26 5. SEA TURTLES IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS ............................................................. 27 5.1 SPECIES KNOWN TO OCCUR IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS .................................................. 27 5.2 NESTING.............................................................................................................................. 30 5.2.1 Seasonality of Nesting ................................................................................................. 31 5.3 PRESENCE AND BEHAVIOR IN FORAGING HABITATS.......................................................... 31 5.3.1. Pelagic Habitat............................................................................................................ 32 5.3.2 Inshore Habitat............................................................................................................ 33 5.4 MIGRATION ......................................................................................................................... 33 5.5 POPULATION SIZE AND STRUCTURE ................................................................................... 35 5.6 TURTLE MORTALITY AND THREATS TO STOCKS ................................................................ 37 6.0 TURTLES AND HUMANS IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS........................................ 39 6.1 TURTLES IN MARSHALLESE FOLKLORE.............................................................................. 39 6.1.1 Folk Traditions ............................................................................................................ 39 6.1.2 Folk Tales .............................................................................................................. 40 6.2 CULTURAL ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES INVOLVING SEA TURTLES .................................. 41 6.2.1 Historical Reports .......................................................................................................42 6.2.2 Current Attitudes and Practices .................................................................................. 44 6.2.2.1 Control over Turtles and Turtle Habitat ................................................................ 44 6.2.2.2 Turtle Utilization and Monetary Valuation .......................................................... 47 6.2.2.3 Perceptions of Turtle Abundance and Status of Stocks........................................ 51 7. RESEARCH RELATING TO TURTLES IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS ................. 52 7.1 PAST AND CURRENT RESEARCH........................................................................................ 52 7 7.2 SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS....... 54 7.3 RESEARCH FOLLOW-UP ................................................................................................. 55 8. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................... 55 8.1 IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH PRIORITIES ....................................................................... 55 8.2 PAST RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................... 57 8.3 OTHER RESEARCH CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................. 58 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 60 APPENDIX 1 SUMMARY OF DATA ON ISLANDS AND CORAL REEFS IN THE MARSHALL