FI xSF'/f;lOP/RID(l 102/6 1 Miu•oh 19'/2 EJOUT:H PACHIC :rnI.ANDS ~ EU!RINID TURTLE IU!JSOURCES A :i."epo:r.'t IJ:rop&,::rect for the South PMific Iolanda JJ1 i1me:i.~1e~ D.!Jv®lopm*'nt Agenc..'Y by ,J oRo :mu1driolwo11 i\im•i:uo Biology ( 1l'ul'Uaa) Con<!ttltaxri; Rom", 1972 WS/07567 1 • IN'l'RODUG'rION 2. U .s. TRUS'l' TERRI'l'OHY OF ~1'I1JIJ PACIFIC ISLANDS 2.1 SynopBiB of Act:ivi'!;y 2. 2 FincLings 2 2.3 Recormnanda/Gions 5 3. GUAM 6 3.1 Synopsis of Activities 6 3.2 Findingfl 6 3.3 Racomrnenda:tions 6 PAPUA-NEW GUINEA 4.1 Synop.iia of Activitio111 7 4. 2 Finding•~ 7 4.3 Recommendations 9 CONSOLIDATED llEOOMM:filNDA'I'IONS 10 ITHIERARY 12 PIIRSONS INTERVIlll'IIilD 13 covering work in ·~he Uo(1o •1:r1.ucs1; of ·th€c' PiM~if:tc Ial!'!,nM and in iB 1J&o~3<!3d. upon itr!;®;:vi•~W3 uH;h [f~':MV®rnrn<iJn·~ and. fish~n:y o:fficilil,18~ marine 'r.urtl121 fi11h0rmoen EJXH'I. ancl loe~J. :inht",11:l.'l;E:l..n't!'! i;,1 itn1 t;o ce>rrh~i1nrte llSeful ini'orm.1J;tio:n. a:ml 'eh@ consulta:!'rt to ti1rtle nesting heach~rn ~u1cl feeding H foUowa I:nfo:r"!llal report FI~Sl;y'SOP/REG 'i02/2 by In 19689 M a :reimH; of dit!m1eRl!iom1 wit;h South J?a,cific C<i~1tmi&uJion ( SPC) officers, ·the consultant B. T1:irtl<';l whioh waa !!@mt out by the South Pacific Ielands .Fisheries Develo1Jment SPIF'DA) 'rn fiiJhe:riem of'fioo:t'u tind oth1:1r potential info~ll! in the. South Pacifico A copy of thi:t1 qlws·tion11air'<) i.13 bwlude<l in Dr. Hirth 1B Informal report and da'Ga from 'Gh® :t'<>SpOMim aJ.~® inolu.ded b1 his (in most cas<>s9 following dinct verification 1)y him in comreri:J~/~ionl'3 with the reapondent1t1). In like fa.shim19 the two retolponae£1 rv.:1ceiwd in the con!1lults,nt 1 1I! ares, of assignm<llnt (Guam aml Bm.lgai:nville) in this albeit wi'Ghout dir€lct relll,ffirmation0 The Te:t"!llS of Re feremce of ·thi;i cmmultl'.mt were g 1w110 s,:nd :report on the 1:1ea turtle farm on Ch·and Cayman Il!llandw British West Indies; to supplement ·~he Project's previoui review of the stocks of me,dne tu:r-tlei;; in ,Ghe fllouth and southW""..,st Pacific; where feaBible 9 to design with d11Jtaileci iMt:rnct:l.ou..!ll fo1• this e>ll!tablbhment o:f' ·ttu:-tle farmlll and give training ·i;o local porso:l'lMl in the impleme:n:t&,ticm of ·the1>1ll The bibliog-caphy of marine tur'Ue publioationB ghnm eJ:3 Appendix 5 in Dr. Hir·th 1s repor1 is co1wide:red adiilqua:i;e withom~ additiona by ·the oormul'tan,i;; no bibliography is appended to this report. 2. 2.1 Approxir11r2.bly half of the 60 1;1e,r:1 allocated for work in the rr:r'1J~f;t Terr:i. Biloauf:I® of :i.~mot®nnrn!"I baaohe!'J <'!nd predictable tranEJpo:Pta:tion di:t'ficuJ:t i<1~1 in ·the Ma:t'IIlh!!,11 ·the oo:rumlta:rrt !'Hibocluled. to visit Majuro with the i!:rten·tfon of o·~h.E:ir following the !lnd. finii:ihing ai; ];l':l.!'Ah®r:b~lli! Rei~e!U'ch s·t11:tion exi111ta. Unfortm1a:tdy9 i.ve 1~_ncl ~• to·tal abf'ltimco of cable 9 radio and pofB·te,l ooummnir,i;i/~ion rl1l10 in J~he Trust Territory ciulminated. w:l:th to re&i,oh Palau (\11 s'Gand.- by sta;tus from ·th® Gurun During 14 in M~iju:ro befo:t'e oha.J:'ior oouJ.d ha ·to Bila!.r Atoll, /!'!, large numOOI' of l~:l.'!'10nEJ w1:u3 ot:m!'!idor!l.blo ion by l!ll,Yl1l'!ln on many portioM of the Trufft p1",rtiouJ.ll!,:rly 'Ghoills of Dr. Jack Tobin9 aleo provid!i!!d detail®d info:rniation of oonBide:&'a'ble v·alu.e. di!!lousaions on the potential for turtle fa.r·mi:ng in thc:i ~fu.rahall If:llsz.:ndl'l helfl wi'th brt®~lllted pe:t"!'lon!'!, and the consultant wal'il Eloblo to fo:t'lmlllat® l!l.nd ht1:vo confiru1od a r1.ui11bor of economic and. social milieu in which ar;y M,:u:•fi!!}ll::!,11€11\10 turth1 fa,1'mlll would ha"V"e The con1t1u.Hant g<1.ve OJJ£ diMttHi.0~1i=l®<rtl"Lre, illu!'!tre,tiflci wi'th colour group of about 20 persons in:t®rostecl in turtlo 2.2 With the exception of dB;t10, which r11JY41 avedlable from ·th'3 Marin® Resources Lttboratocy in Kororw Palauw wid. would 'be conOOl"'ned wi'!;h tho irllfnediate a,rea of the western- most Carolinas, th®re i!Fl oJ()icnt i:l:'ic ·ty on ·!;he !'lea turtll'l popula- tio:ns of the Trwilt Territory. d!:~ta on population si~s; there are no catch or f!lt~tia1dcs; ;~o "'i!£!i',"l{!) prcigrrunme•~ no local fir:!heries officers exist, and there aril no local science on which programmes of atm:W might b!'l based. which ili'j start :from zero and must oo bMed llpon PelilLoo interested lilm1!l.i:[1nr•lfll meaningful survey of the three million scp~ 00noe~ned would be a formidable task. Altho1J8h the consultant lmdlirstood that U1<11 circn1lat®d in 1968 had brought some respon1:1es from the Tru!!lt Te:t'ritory, hEI he,s neJt been able to locate such data at SPIFDA headquarters in Noumea. The most oommon ·turtles in "~he Trus·b are Green tu:r'tlea 9 with Haw1mbilb distributed rather eparaely in the xwrthe:rn ~•ml l'.:!Mtern portiorui of the area and oocooiing more common in the southe:m aud western aectforui. ImmadiaJGdy around Pala:u9 HawkBbills are apparently morl'l common than ar1<1 Gree:i:u1. Ridleye a,11d LoathorbackB appear to occm' only sporadically aw:l. r~rely; no substantial records of Loggerheads liU.'e available and (in the Marshalls, at least), no appropriate name for <1uch a ttll'·l;ll'l o::dsts. The principal known and e1u1pacted Green tur'cle neating ar®as are all on low islands and bars with lHtl® o:r' no htu111ui activity beyoncl via:l:l;t'.! for the pw;poee of collecting fish, 'Gurtles, and sea birrus0 So far as the oo:ruiultant ce~ determine 9 theN are no exteruiive beds of' turtle gras1:1 l:1€le...r these m-rnting localitioi:J9 f!luoh oods being more cooimon in the vicinity of the ( i:rihabited) high idands where there is more 1~rle11eive rainwater :r•un-offo Thus, the best potential feed.ing areiY:oJ and 'che arilal:l arl'l uau.ally sep!!!,rated by oonside:i:•a.ble distanoos. In the Trust 'l'errHory i1alandt"l, there 1\1,ppee..:r to be no nxed cuetoois of holding oaptured turtles for ®rlem1ed periocls in or of 1:'®1,\ring 1!1ma11er individuals to larger size. There ex-a a few &,ccounti:< of chi®fo who turtl~rn placed in th<il royal fish ponds for fut~ co:rummption e,x1d @, few paopl® ·tried Hat4kl'Jbills durhig ·this century (l!!l,11 failed as bMim'lH v~mtUN!<l )o There :i.13 a cl;:i.~ar'lition ha.tchling~ as pets ooa:r the homes, and ·tethering Bmaller individ:ualEJ in the lagoon, b\it n.JO :r·eal culture practioo ia evident In recent yearsu hatche1'y r~chemes have operated on Oroluk Atoll in the Dii~'Grict and in Palau. Individual ,ia:ir'tles a_re 'brought in oVGr moll'lt of th® Te:FL•itory, and are eaten within da;yB of oopt1xre0 A BUIJlffitu:·y of and customs relating ·to turtl®1!3 iB given in 11 Note<1 on the regulations 1u1d. pl'aotfoef:! of ha:F.resUng sea turUe and eJea turtle eggs in the rrruat Te:F.dto:i:•y of the PaoHio Islimda", Antlu.'opological Working Papers, Trust Territory of the Pacific IBlands, April~ 1957. There is an existing sta:tute {Truat Territory Code, TiUe 45~ Ohaptl'll' 1) gOV®rning the taking of sea tur'i; liH10 This prohibi tlil the taking of all !\ll'la tw:'tlea while on Bllorl'l and forbide the taking of ai:zy- eggs. It sets a lower size limit of 24 in carapace le1-igth on all sea turtles tak<1m ill the W<J/Ger, i:md Htablishes olo!!ed seaaonl!I ( 1 J\!11e ·to 31 All8Ust and 1 Daoorn~r to 31 Je,nuary) for HawkBbillso Ma.ximwn pa11altias of au montha or USS 100, or both, are stipulatl!ld0 The oonsultl).nt oould find no evidsnoe thll\t the law had ever ~en employE>d in a prosecution; most infornum:~s were not awru:>o of itl!I exi.i·tl!lnoo; it was openly and ooom'lonly violated in eveey locality '\l'ii!jit®d. It is understood that an effort to educate the populaoo and enforCMil the llll,'W is b!!!ing made in Palau. In the absen04!ll of ~ firm iv.for-rimtion oo?W<'ll':rling the f<liHB of the turtle popula·tions of the Trwit Tl!lrritory~ ll!.n attempt W!iUJ made to dr&w together in the most meaningful form po1ulible all th• intom~'l!.ticm (!Jf ~ sor·t which could be and to produce at leyt an initial Htimate of r•laUve r!li~!!! and lo1Jaticms !lf populations of Green t\irtlee.