15

_ Research. Management-oriented research now in progress at the Rancho
Nuevo nesting ground of L. kempi includes tagging and monitoring the nesting
population, hatchery practice, head starting, colony transplantation, and a-
tracking study to reveal the internesting behavior of female turtles off the
breeding shore. Tagging and incubation of oviducal eggs of Chelonia are
carried out-at Isla de Mujeres.

Veracruz, “Mexico

Sources of Information. Henry Hildebrand (in press) has reviewed the
history of, and literature on, sea turtle populations in this area. In
December 1978, Jeanne Mortimer surveyed the coastline of Veracruz south and
east of. Boca del Rio, visiting coastal towns and interviewing local people.
Later she also conferred with scientists at the Instituto Nacional de Pesca in
Mexico City concerning séa turtle activity in Veracruz.

Nesting Habitat. Green turtles and loggerheads formerly nested in num-
bers in the northern part of the state, near Cabo Rojo. Green turtles,
loggerheads. and hawksbills once emerged abundantly on the coast between
Montepio. and Cerro San Martin, but today this occurs only rarely. Sparse
loggerhead nesting was also reported at Punta Gorda, east of Coatzalcoalcos..,
Near the city of Veracruz there are several offshore islands between Isla
Lobos and Anton Lizardo where. hawksbills nest sparingly. Because of the close
proximity of these colonies to an.urban area, they have been heavily exploi-
ted. The ridley may have nested in great numbers in Veracruz in early days,
and ‘there have been. half a dozen varyingly definite and trustworthy reports of
such events in recent years. At .Boca.del Rio, Mortimer was told that a ridley
(lora) nested in broad daylight in the spring of 1978. Long ago Carr found.
ridleys nesting singly at Anton Lizado and gathered reports. of en masse
nesting near. Montepio. When Mortimer visited the latter locality she was told
that, although ridleys used to nest there in numbers, there has been virtually
no nesting during the past ten years. Twenty years earlier Leonard Giovannoli
heard almost identical: reports. Nesting by leatherbacks on an island near
Anton Lizardo is occasional. .

Adult. and Developmental Foraging Wabitat. Green turtles are reportedly
very rare in coastal waters in Veracruz. Loggerheads ‘are reported to. be
fairly common on rocky. bottoms near Cerro San Martin. Good foraging grounds
for hawksbills occur among the, islands, between Isla Lobo and Anton Lizardo.,
Mature turtles of all the genera are reported to feed occasionally near
Montepio. In Alvarado, Pesca employees told Mortimer that ridleys are. nows
adays very scarce off the coast of Veracruz, although between June and August,
they are taken in some numbers in shrimp nets, in a rock-bottom area near
Punta de Zempoala called Chachalacas. . A few mature female. ridleys that had
been tagged while nesting at Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, have been recovered in
this area: at least two near Alvarado, and one at Chachalaca. ,Leatherbacks
are only rarely encountered in Veracruz waters.

Exploitation. and Protection. All along the coast of Veracruz turtles are
taken whenever they are found, whether nesting, or in the sea. Many people
set nets, for them, especially near Veracruz and Montepio, and they are often
caught incidentally in shrimp trawls. Large quantities of tortoiseshell
curios, and whole stuffed turtles are sold in Veracruz, in shops along the



36

Guadeloupe

Sources of Information. The only recent literature on the marine turtles
of Guadeloupe is a paper titled Le Statut des Tortue Dans Les Antilles
Francaises (1976) by A. Kermarrec of the Station de Zoologie et Lutte
Biologique in Petit Bourg. This discusses the critical need for conservation
measures in the French Antilles, to halt the decline of. hawksbill and green
turtle populations.

Anne and Peter Meylan were in Guadeloupe from 15-18 December 1978. Inter-
views were conducted and nesting beaches reconnoitered around the entire peri-
meter of Basse~Terre, and at Pointe-a-Pitre and St. Francois on Grande-Terre.
Information was gathered about Les Saintes, Marie Galante, La Desirade, and
Iles de la Petit Terre, although these islands were not visited.

Nesting Habitat. Beaches are irregularly spaced all along the coast of
Guadeloupe, except for the rocky windward (N-NE) coast of Grande-Terre and in
the mangrove areas along the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin. Good beaches also exist
on the small-islands in the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin, at Ilet a4 Kahouanne, La
Desirade, Les Saintes and Marie Galante.

Hawksbills and green turtles are the principal nesters. Around Basse-
Terre, both species are reported to nest on islands in the Grand Cul-de-Sac
Marin (Ilet a Fojou, Ilet a4 Caret), along the north coast (Plage Ramée, Ilet &
Kahouanne, Plage de Grande: Anse near Deshaie) and on the east coast (Plage de
Grande Anse near: Trois-Rivieres, St. Clair, and Plage Viard). On Grande-
Terre, nesting is reported at Anse Bertrans and Port Louis and on the penin-
sula east of St. Francois. Nesting may also occur on other beaches in unsur-
veyed areas of Grande-Terre, although the northeast coast is extremely rocky,
and the south coast is developed for tourism. Nesting is reported to occur on
Iles de la Petit Terre, Les Saintes, Marie Galante (at Ballet Beach) and La
Desirade. According to informants, only a few turtles nest on any given night
on any beach in Guadeloupe. The. nesting season for both hawksbills and green
turtles is April through September. Leatherbacks nest occasionally on beaches
in northern Basse-Terre, including Ilet 4 Kahouanne. ‘The best nesting beach
for this species is Plage de Grande Anse near Trois-Rivieres. Loggerheads
nest only rarely on Guadeloupe. Localities. mentioned were Ilet a Kahouanne
and the beaches near Goyave (St. Clair and Plage Viard).

Adult_and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Numerous reefs occur in Grande

Cul-de-Sac Marin, along the eastern shore of Basse-Terre (off St. Marie,
Goyave, and Petit Bourg), along the southern coast of Grande-Terre (off St.
Anne and St. Francois) and along the northern shore of the peninsula extending
east from St. Francois. Reefs also are found along the southern shore of La
Desirade, around the entire perimeter of Iles de la Petite Terre, and along
the southeast coast of Marie Galante. The irregular coastline of Guadeloupe
has many sheltered coves in which seagrasses grow in beds.

Hawksbills and green turtles of all ages are year around residents in
Guadeloupe waters. Two tagged green turtles have been recaptured in
Guadeloupe: one was originally tagged while nesting at Tortuguero, Costa Rica,
and the other at Aves Island. Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin provides optimum devel-
opmental and adult foraging habitats. St. Rose, one of the main centers of
‘turtle fishing in Guadeloupe, is situated in this area. Another important


32

Bacon (1975). The only recent survey in Jamaica was made by Tom Carr dur ing
early May (3-13), 1979. He obtained data from more than 100 interviews. The
people interviewed. were fishermen, scientists at the University of the West
Indies and the U.W.I. Marine Lab, and government fisheries officers.

Nesting Habitat. Beaches suitable for nesting occur all around the
island. Hawksbille are the most frequent nesters, but only a few emerge each
year. .The season lasts from April to August. Loggerheads nest even more
sparsely. During the past 45 years, only two leatherback nestings have been
reported and no green turtles have been seen on shore in recent decades.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Coral reefs and seagrass

pastures are abundant in the coastal waters of the island. Hawksbills and
green turtles ranging from dinner-plate to mature sizes are found in moderate
numbers in these. _Hawksbills forage primarily on the outer reef ledges,. but
they also sometimes appear along weedlines. Both subadult and mature green
turtles occur on the grass beds. A tag recovered. at Morant Cay came. from a
green turtle that had been tagged while nesting at Tortuguero, Costa Rica.
Before construction in Montego Bay destroyed the mangrove creek habitats,
small green turtles reportedly occurred regularly in the creeks. Young green
turtles also frequent the offshore drift lines. Adult loggerheads are occa-
sionally caught in drift lines, in deeper water. lLeatherbacks are rarely seen
in Jamaican waters. Fishermen believe that only a few mature sea turtles of
any kind stay near the island the year around. Reports of loggerheads seen
far offshore were received, and the observers believed that the turtles were
travelling.

Exploitation and Protection. There is a local market for turtle eggs,

meat and shell. Because turtles are scarce, no one hunts them full time, but
turtles and their nests are generally taken whenever encountered. Hawksbills
are captured with spearguns. Loggerheads are. gaffed in the offshore
weedline. On the main island, Jamaican law protects only the eggs. On Morant
and Pedro Cays both turtles and eggs are totally protected by law, but
enforcement is inadequate. Recently, the Natural Resources Conservation
Department has instigated a conservation campaign to change both laws and
attitudes. As a feature of this, an informative. pamphlet entitled Save Our
Turtles is being circulated.

Research. During Tom Carr’s visit, scientists at the University of the
West Indies expressed an interest in initiating a sea turtle research program
in the future.

Dominican Republic

Sources of Information. Sea turtles, probably chiefly hawksbills and
green turtles, were extremely abundant in Hispaniola during the early years of
the Spanish occupation. The Italian, Cuneo wrote of "an infinity of giant
turtles...optimal for eating" in 1495, and references are frequent to turtles
in Hispaniola by Columbus, Oviedo, and Peter Martyr. The last, who was the
first chronicler of Spain in the Caribbean, described reports of the mass
nesting of sea turtles on the island of Alta Vela off the southwest coast of
Hispaniola near Cabo Beata. Hispaniola, like Jamaica and the Cayman Islands,
seems a clear case of a region in which once abundant green turtle and hawks-
bill populations were exploited to near extinction at a very early date.



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41

and mature green turtles and hawksbills are year-around residents. Turtle
nets are set in feeding areas along the northern coast from Gros Ilet to Anse
Lavoutte, on the west coast at Souffriere and Choiseul, and on the east coast
at Anse Sable and near Micoud (Fond Bay to Pt. Canelles). One tag has been
recovered on St. Lucia: a green turtle originally tagged while nesting at
Aves Island was captured near Vieux Fort. Two washtub-sized green turtles
that had been caught at Gros Ilet were butchered and sold in the public market
at Catries during the survey period. Loggerheads and leatherbacks are less
common in coastal waters. Fishermen see them when they look for schools of
flying-fish, or for floating plywood associated with the weedline. Small
loggerheads are occasionally found in the area around Gros Ilet. Small
leatherbacks are unknown, except for one specimen weighing about 20 lbs.,
reported by a fisherman from Souffriere.

Exploitation and Protection. Green turtles and hawksbills are protected
by a fisheries ordinance passed in 1971. The season is closed from 1 May
through 31 August. Nesting turtles and eggs are protected at all times. The
minimum size limit is 15 lbs. Nets cannot be set nearer than 100 yards to
shore. A license is required for the export of turtles. Some public
awareness of these regulations exists, but enforcement officers are too few to
insure that the fishermen take the rules seriously. No protected marine areas
are found in St. Lucia.

Research. None.

St. Vincent

Sources of Information. A short description of the turtle industry of
St. Vincent was published by Rebel (1974). Anne and Peter Meylan visited the
island from 31 December 1978 through 5 January 1979. They interviewed people
on the west coast from Kingston to Richmond Beach, and in the St. Vincent
Grenadines at Union Island. Aerial reconnaissance of the Grenadines was
carried out in a small two-engine plane. .

Nesting Habitat. All along the leeward coast of St. Vincent there are
beaches that appear suitable as nesting habitat. The windward shore was not
surveyed, and the maps available do not show the distribution of beaches along
that coast. In the St. Vincent Grenadines, which include all of the islands
south to, but not including, Carriacou, numerous beaches appear to be likely
nesting habitat. On the mainland'of St. Vincent, hawksbills are the predomi-
nant nesters. They emerge on nearly every stretch of beach, but everywhere in
reduced numbers. Nesting localities on the western coast include Richmond
Beach, Rose Bank, ‘Troumaka Bay, Cumberland Bay, Wallilabou Bay, and
Barrouallie. On the east coast, some nesting occurs at Orange. Hill, Colonarie
Bay, and Stubbs. The nesting season for the hawksbill is March through
September. lLeatherbacks nest occasionally on the leeward coast, especially on
Richmond. Beach, Dark View, Barrouallie, and Clare Valley. On the east coast,
nesting is reported at Mt. Pleasant. Additional localities on this coast
almost surely exist, but these were not located. Loggerheads and green
turtles may nest, very rarely, on the west coast, although no positive records
were obtained. The extent of nesting by any species on the east coast was not
determined.


4s

5.

6.

e. How do you know this?
f. Are their times of arrival and departure on a predictable
Schedule, or do the turtles just trickle in and away?

: ge What kinds of habitats does each occur in - channels, reefs,

turtle grass beds, gorgonia beds, mangrove creeks, other?
he How many of each kind do you catch in a year? Are these all
adults, or ‘are some smaller turtles?
‘4e How many turtles do you catch in your nets (or by diving) on a
: good day?
4. How many days (months) do you fish for turtles in a year?

ky Are there any grass beds around here? Do you see adult turtles ©

feeding in these grass beds?

1. Are there any reefs around here? Are turtles common around the
reefs?

m- Are there any places where turtles are especially numerous?

te Do you ever see turtles offshore? How far out? What kinds?

‘ What size? Are they in groups when you ‘see them offshore?

What do they seem to be doing out there? Are they associated
with driftwood, seaweed, or just in the open sea?

Seasonality and ecology of developmental stages.

ae What kinds. of. small turtles do you see?.

be What sizes of each kind-do you find (i.e. dinner-plate, wash-_

: tub, nearly grown)? Which live here year around?

ce. Do you find the different kinds of small turtles in the same
kinds. of places? If not, what is the best type of place. for
each kind?

d. Da the different size classes of a kind show up at different
times of year?.

ee Do. the different size classes of a species live in different
places?

fe Do young sea turtles go into mangrove creeks? If.so, what do
you think they find to eat there?

Nesting.

as Do sea turtles nest locally? If so, which kinds? At what
seasons? On what beaches?

be Are there any places where many turtles gather to nest togeth-
er? If so0,.where, and what species is involved?

c. About how many turtles of each species nest. per mile of good
nesting shore in your area in an average night? In an average
year?

Changes.in population levels.

a. Are seq turtles generally fewer nowadays than they used to be?

De How would you rate their abundance today as. compared with 10
years ago, 25 years ago?

Ce On what do you base your belief that changes. in numbers have
occurred? On annual catch? On changes in the effort that has
to be spent catching a turtle? On changes in nesting density
on local beaches? . On figures you have seen in print? If so,
where?: . ‘ .

de TE “you have seen changes, what do you attribute these to?


69

areas. From May to August they move past the San Andrés reef, appearing to
come from the north, and to be heading south when they leave. It is a general
belief that these green turtles are migrating to Turtle Bogue (Tortuguero) to
nest. Where they come from is not known--only "up Quitasueitio way," they say.

Despite the enormous amount of tourist shopping on San Andrés, which is a
free port with more than 400 shops visited by great numbers of Colombians,
there is very little open trade in tortoiseshell jewelry. The floods . of
Bogotanos. who come to the island do not come for. trinkets; they come for Sony
tape decks, TV’s, electric fans and every conceivable kind of electric and
electronic appliance. On the day Carr left, there was a block-long line of
cartons lined. up in front of the ticket counter for the SAM flight to
Cartagena and. Bogota. I saw no tortoiseshell trinkets at all. This is not
primarily because Colombian law forbids it, but because of the high prices
paid for raw shell by people from outside. Carapace plates alone bring $30-40
a pound. If the plastral scales are included, prices go up to $50-60 a pound,
depending on the thickness of the scutes. The main buyer is said to be a
Caymanian, who comes by when he gets a cable saying that 50 pounds of shell is
available. It is said that this same man buys shell in Nicaragua, Costa Rica
and Panama.

Nobody interviewed, except Hershel Mosquito, claimed to have seen post-
hatchling sea turtles anywhere in the archipelago. Mr. Mosquito said he once
found two hand~size hawksbills "in the water, near rock patches."

Before diving became the chief--and almost only--method of turtling in
the islands, they were taken by netting--over in the Miskito Cays--and more
usually by handline fishing, using Portuguese man-o-war (or sea bladders, as
they are called locally) as bait. This method was familiar to everybody
interviewed. It is said to be most effective when green turtles feed in open
water on flats set with turtle grass or gorgonians. Only the green turtle
will take this bait, and those caught are always juveniles or subadults.
Mature green turtles are virtually unknown as feeding residents in San Andres
waters--only as migrants. The time to fish with sea bladders is early morning
or late afternoon, and only when several turtles can be seen blowing on a
flat. After picking up half a dozen bladders on the beach, the fisherman
baits a hook with one of them, inserting the hook through the thick tissue
beneath the float, due care being taken to avoid puncturing the bladder, or
touching the viciously painful tentacles. Then he paddles quietly out to a
place upwind, or up-current, from the flat, anchors his boat, and pays out the
line baited with the man-o-war. The bait is carried by the wind or current
down to where the turtles are feeding. Everybody who described this technique
assured Carr that sea bladders are irresistable bait for young green turtles,
and that hawksbills pay them no attention at all.

Neither the San Andrés nor the Providencia people have ever heard of
hawksbill meat poisoning anybody who ate it. Fish, yes, but turtles, no. As
it has been for 100 years or more, hawksbill is still the favorite meat of the
native San Andreans. The preference for: hawksbill over green turtle is not
sour grapes--they simply like it bétter. "It’s my delight," one man said.
However, he and most other people interviewed considered hawksbill meat to be
a vanishing blessing, and absolutely sure to disappear.


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47

Figures 1-13. Distribution of ecologic and developmental stages of
five species of west Atlantic sea turtles. Densities are rated
on intraspecific scales; cross comparisons are not possible.
Figures 1-3. Green turtle
Figures 4-6. Hawksbill
Figures 7-9. Loggerhead
Figure 10-12. Kemp’s ridley

Figure 13. Leatherback



_ 19

Belize

¢ Sources of Information. Published information on the ecology and. status
of ‘sea turtles: in Belize is practically non-existant. During late July 1978
David and Peggy Carr made a reconnaissance there and gathered data, mostly
through interviews. Much useful information was obtained from personnel at
five fishing cooperatives that are distributed along the Belize coast.

Nesting Habitat. Suitable nesting beaches occur along. much of ‘the Belize
coast, and on offshore cays. Because of the longtime presence of man, how-
ever, little if any nesting now occurs on Ambergris Cay in northern Belize and
along several of the smaller islands such as Cay Chapel and St. Georges Cay in
Central Belize. In the past, green turtles nested there, but whether any
large rookeries ever existed cannot be definitely established. .Nesting by
loggerheads has been recorded at Half Moon Cay on Lighthouse Reef, and in the
past, green turtlés.and hawksbills also nested there-. In southern Belize,
loggerheads: and. hawksbills still nest ‘in: moderate numbers, especially: on
Nicolas and Ranguano Cays. and other smaller cays of the area. .

- Adult.and Developmental Foraging Habitat. The great extent of the Belize
Barrier Reef affords almost unlimited developmental habitat. .. In.the»northern
part of the country the reef wanes and there is more grass-flat habitat.
Accordingly, -juvenile loggerheads and green turtles, and. hawksbills.of all
ages are more numerous in the south than along the northern coast.’ The most
abundant. mature’ turtles in. residence are loggerheads; ..Green turtles and
hawksbills :occur: din - approximate: equal numbers, with relatively. more green
turtles~in the north, and more hawksbills in the south.. Two recoveries .of
adult female: green turtles that had been tagged while nesting at-Tortuguero
were made-in-Belize.. -Adult leatherbacks are occasionally sighted, usually 20-
25 miles off the mainland, where they appear to be migrating.

Exploitation. and Protection. Although turtles weighing less than fifty.
pounds are protected by law, and turtling is. prohibited during: ‘the-nesting
season; the laws go almost unheeded. Turtles and. their.eggs are taken when~-
ever found. In July 1978, shrimp trawling was just beginning in Belize, and
reports of turtle deaths in trawls were already coming in.

‘Research. The government ‘was*.an active participant in Operation Green
Turtle of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation during the 1960s, and. Belize
was. one .of -only: two>or three localities in which. developmental colonies
appeared to have been established. ' The introduced Belize turtles.were totally
eradicated by. two severe hurricanes. No research on the sea turtles of Belize
is at present being carried out. . eee he os

Guatemala

Sources: of Information. Little published information is available on the
sea. turtles.’ of Guatemala. A. Carr’ surveyed the beaches at Cabo de Tres
Puntas; and David and: Peggy Carr reconnoitered and carried out interviews
along the whole coast of Guatemala during August 1978.

Nesting Habitat. From Cabo de Tres Puntas southeast to Rio Montagua
there is good nesting habitat. Hawksbills, loggerheads, leatherbacks ‘and


37

center of turtling is Vieux Fort, in southern Basse-Terre. The fishermen
there frequently travel to Les Saintes and Marie Galante to set their nets,
and these islands can be assumed to provide suitable habitat. Correspondence
received by A. Carr confirms that small green turtles occur at Les Saintes.
Juvenile green turtles and hawksbills are common along the eastern coast of
Basse-Terre.

Except during the nesting season, leatherbacks are rarely seen in coastal
waters. Fishermen sight them in deeper offshore waters, particularly when
searching for dolphin. No small leatherbacks are ever seen. Loggerheads are
also occasionally sighted in deeper offshore waters.. They are uncommon in
northern and western Basse-Terre, but are fairly well known to fishermen on
the east coast near Goyave. Several reports were received that loggerheads
are more common around the St. Francois-Moule area of Grande-Terre. Thirty-
five loggerheads, mostly of sub-adult size, were found for sale on the island,
but their origin could not be determined.

Exploitation and Protection. Exploitation of marine turtles is intense
in Guadeloupe. The meat and eggs of hawksbills, green turtles and even
leatherbacks are relished by coastal people. A tourist market thrives, espe-
cially in the larger towns of Point-a-Pitre and Basse-Terre, for shells,
stuffed turtles and jewelry. As was mentioned above, even the shells of
loggerheads are sold to tourists. The export of turtle products is not prohi=
bited. .

Fisheries statistics for Guadeloupe show an estimated annual take of 30
metric tons of sea turtle (whole animal weight, all species combined) for
1959-1976. This includes figures for St. Bartolemy and St. Martin, which are
said to be minor components. .

Proposed legislation provides protection for eggs of all. species.
Leatherback turtles are completely protecte@é, as are green turtles and hawks-
pills less than 60 cm in carapace length. The capture and sale of the latter
two are prohibited between 15 May and 15 September. These regulations do not
appear to be enforced, and local people were for the most part unaware that
any laws existed. .

Ilet a Fajou is currently being considered for inclusion in a National
Park. On Basse-Terre, there is already a protected marine zone near the
Pigeon Islands, but few turtles appear to be there. :

Research. None.

Dominica

Sources of Information. No published information on the marine turtles
of Dominica has been located. Peter and Anne Meylan were on the island during
the period 19-23 December 1978, conducting interviews along the western coast
from Scott’s Head to Capuchin, on the northern coast at Calibishie, and at La
Pleine and Delices on the eastern coast.

Nesting Habitat. Most of the coastline of this volcanic island is.a
series of rocky cliffs; there are relatively few beaches.. On the west coast


68

Andrés and Providencia, have been widely known as hawksbill hunters, not
taking the species just for its shell but also preferring the meat above that
of the green turtle. Background on the history of turtling in the islands is
given by John Parsons, and the four atolls of the group are described by
Milliman (Atoll Research Bull., 129, 1969). We have long been familiar with
San Andrés turtling and turtlers because of 26 years’ association with expa~
triate San Andreans at the turtle station at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, and in
Nicaragua, and Panama. More recently, firsthand information was obtained on
the present status of turtle populations in the islands when Carr spent a week
in the archipelago in mid-June, 1980. Movements among the islands were
seriously hampered by travel restrictions and lack of transportation during a
time of unrest over international traffic in contraband. The localities
covered herein are the major islands, San Andrés and Providencia; and the four
atolls, East Southeast Cays, Albuquerque Cays, Roncador Bank and Serrana Bank.
The region is a critical one, and if prospects for access to the more remote
parts of the archipelago improve before this contract terminates, further sur-
veys should be given high prioritye The islands are shown in Fig. 7.

San Andrés and Generale On San Andrés, Carr hired cars and traveled
along the coasts of the island, walking beaches and interviewing every
fisherman who was familiar with the outlying banks and atolls. Almost
everybody had opinions about turtles. ‘Two exceptionally invaluable sources of
information were Hershel Mosquito,.a fisherman at St. Louis, and Richard Bart,
owner of three boats at the fisherman’s cooperative by the airport. The
latter was particularly helpful. He is a Colombian with a college degree, and
is very intelligent. The information from him and from 18 other informants
hangs together pretty well.

As nesting territory, San Andrés is finished. long ago, hawksbills and
loggerheads nested regularly on the island, in approximate proportions of 3 to
1. Now the town has spread along the whole extent of the best beach, at the
northeast end of the island, and all the smaller beaches are settled up. Most
of the shore of San Andrés is ironshore, as the Caymanians call it--low bluff
of old ragged coral. There is a reef along the whole northeast extent of the
coast, and good foraging habitats occupy the lagoon between. Today nesting is
desultory and sporadic on all the San Andrés beaches. There are good beaches
on nearby Johnny Cay and Haines Cay and these, likewise, are only very rarely
visited by either hawksbills or loggerheads, which are the only nesting
turtles in the region. Carr found general agreement that the proportions of
these two are about three hawksbills to one loggerhead, and that this ratio
prevails all about the archipelago from Sérrana Bank to Albuquerque Cay. It is
also said to be the same for foraging colonies of the two species. A turtle
found nesting on shore is always killed, and the eggs are always taken. Every-
body admits that, throughout the archipelago, nesting. has declined markedly.
Apparently, mature green turtles rarely came to San Andrés, even in early
days, except as strays, and the leatherback turtle 1s almost totally unknown.
Hershel Mosquito said, "When I see a leatherback over toward San Blas, 15
years) ago it frighten’ me badly." This complete gap in the range of
Dermochelys is noteworthy. .No ridley is know in the region, either, but that
is expected. .

All informants agreed ‘that turtles, mainly green turtles, but also some
adult loggerheads and hawksbills, show up periodically as itinerants in the


‘ . . PREFACE
This is a preliminary report of a survey to assess population levels and

identify critical habitats of the five genera and six species of sea turtles
(Chelonia mydas, green. turtle; Eretmochelys imbricata, hawksbill; Caretta caretta,
loggerhead; Lepidochelys kempi, Kemp's ridley; L. olivacea, olive ridley;
Dermochelys coriacea, leatherback) that. occur in the American Atlantic. Results
of this. investigation will provide grounds for Subsequent efforts to determine
recent. population changes and their causes and for plans by which the species
can be’ graduated from their present endangered and threatened status.

This report presents results of field research conducted by the Caribbean
Conservation Corporation under two consecutive contracts with the National Marine
Fisheries Service. .The periods of the work extended from May,, 1978. through
April,, 1980, ahd from May, 1980 through August, 1981. The data. obtained came from
aerial and ground surveys and from an exhaustive series of standardized interviews
with all persons who seemed likely to contribute useful information on occurrence,
ecology, density, and density trends in the local sea turtle populations. In
some cases the same: geographic area :was surveyed more than once. Because these
are interim reports, complete coverage, of the literature on marine turtles of
the Caribbean. area was not. attempted.

Field personnel for the project consisted of: Karen Bjorndal, David Carr,
Peggy Carr, Thomas Carr (field manager during. the first quarter) ,.Anne Meylan,
Peter Meylan, Jeanne Mortimer (managing editor and cartographer, 1980 interim
report), and Archie Carr (Principal Investigator). . Special contributions to the
survey were made by Larry Ogren, Guillermo Cuellar, and Argelis Ruiz. Lynda
Whitaker served as recording secretary for the project.

This report was prepared by the authors for the Southeast Fisheries Center,
National Marine Fisheries Service, under Purchase Orders 03-78-D08-0025 and
NA 80-GA-C-00071.


71

outlying islands, and has in the past offered excellent reef fishing. When
Henry Fowler visited these keys in 1944 he was impressed by the diversity of
fishes there, and also by the numbers of lobsters. When John Milliman
surveyed the atoll in 1969 he noted the poor representation of both, and
suggested that over-fishing had caused the change. There can be no doubt at
all that he was right. As everywhere else in the archipelago, the fishermen
who go to ESE take away everything that can be speared. They mostly are
accomplished free divers, who regularly search the reef-fronts and the coral
patches down to 6-7 fathoms, usually in the early morning, for snapper,
grouper, lobsters and turtle. At night, in the hawksbill nesting season--June
through August--they go ashore and take nesting turtles and their eggs. Many
of the fishermen understand that this is self-destructive harvesting, but say,
“If we don’t spear the turtles somebody else will." In any case, turtles are

being obliterated at ESE Cays, and as long as combined catches of snapper,
- lobsters and turtles can be taken away, trips to the atoll will be profitable,
and the process is bound to continue.

Albuquerque Cays (Southwest Cays). This is a circular atoll about three
miles across, with two well-wooded cays, North Cay and South Cay. Seabirds
nest there; numerous migrant birds stop over in the woods, and there is a
resident species of hummingbird on the island. The beaches here are the best
hawksbill nesting ground remaining in the archipelago south of South Cay on
Serrana Bank--which is the northernmost of the atolls. The atoll at
Albuquerque provides excellent feeding habitat for hawksbills; and also for
developmental stages of the loggerhead, though not for adults. Young green
turtles (10-30 pounds) also occur, but much more rarely. The numerous people
who go to Albuquerque go mainly after fish, lobsters, immature turtles, and
bird eggs; but they also closely watch the short extent of nesting beach on
North Cay, and take both the nesting female turtles and their eggs. Both
hawksbills and loggerheads nest on Albuquerque, in proportions about the same
as their occurrence in the foraging and developmental habitats. The older
fishermen say that green turtles once nested occasionally on these cays, but
for 10-15 years have not been seen on shore. However, both the nesting and
foraging populations at Albuquerque appear to be less depleted than those of
ESE, Cays. This must be because Albuquerque is farther away from San Andrés
(70 miles, vs. around 17 miles). Nevertheless, all informants agree that
turtles are much fewer there than they were, even as recently as ten years
ago.

Serrana Bank. This extensive bank is the largest of the atolls, being
about’ 16 miles in greatest diameter; and it also is the northernmost (14 16’
N, 80°20’ W). Every fisherman interviewed considered this the best turtle
ground, with the best representation of both nesting and forage habitats,
remaining in the region. There are six cays in the group: East Cay, South
Cay, Little Cay, Narrow Cay, Southwest Cay, and North Cay. The most heavily
used nesting shore today--mainly because it is least accessible from San
Andrés--is on North Cay, a low, scantily vegetated patch of rubble and sand.
Besides the relatively well-used nesting beach there, there is extensive
favorable feeding ground on the bank. Hawksbills and loggerheads, both mature
and immature, are fairly abundant, and occasional young green turtles occurs
There is a military garrison on South Cay.


70

The most striking result of the observations and interviews in the
islands was the belated realization that, because of a special set of factors
involved in the exploitation of the marine resources of the archipelago, the
hawksbill is certain to be wiped out there. The reason for this is that, even
. though hawksbill fishing has, in itself, become an unreliable way of making a
living, spear-fishing for snapper, grouper and lobsters has not. This spear-
fishing brings the fishermen directly into hawksbill habitat. Any turtle
speared simply adds $100-250 to the profit from the rest of the catch. Thus,
the depletion that the hawksbill has undergone does not relieve the pressure
on it, because the profit from the combined catch of turtles, lobsters and
snappers will keep the divers working and traveling out to the most distant
reefs, right up to and beyond the time that the last turtle has been taken.
With that system in operation, and with practically every nest in the
archipelago being meanwhile raided by the eggers, the survival of the hawks—
bill in the archipelago seems impossible. The same set of interrelated
factors is operating throughout the Caribbean.

The decline cannot be precisely documented quantitatively by landing
records, because there are none. Richard Bart, however, who is an exception-
ally objective and outspoken individual, said, after some pondering, that
during the past ten-year period the take of combined loggerheads and hawks-
bills has declined from 100 turtles per boat per season to about 25 per boat
per season. This occurred at a time when diving techniques and equipment were
improving. .

Providencia. This is a volcanic island, much higher and more heavily
wooded than San Andrés and with freshwater springs and streams. Excellent
turtle beaches occur around the shore of the island. None is quite as
extensive as that now incorporated into San Andres city, but most of the
Proyidencia coast is set with small, cove-head beaches that. seem (and
certainly once were) good hawksbill nesting ground. The people there share
the traditional preference of the San Andreans for hawksbills for eating. . The
resulting steady pressure, combined with the recent fantastic rise’ in the
prices paid for tortoiseshell, has almost wiped out the once sizeable nesting
population on Providencia. Both hawksbills and loggerheads still nest there,
but they come ashore only seldom, and even then almost no nest escapes the egg
hunters. In the waters around the island there is good developmental and
foraging habitat, occupied or periodically visited by young careyes and
loggerheads, and occasionally by small green turtles. Santa Catalina Island,
narrowly separated from Providencia on the north side of the bigger island, is
physiographically similar, although with an even more precipitous shoreline,
and. with almost no sandy shore. It is said to be hardly ever visited. by
nesting turtles. Hawksbills feed around the fringe and patch reefs, and these
are also visited occasionally by adult and immature loggerheads.

East Southeast Cays (Courtown Cays). This is the southernmost atoll in

the archipelago (12°24’ N, 81° 25° W) and it lies only about 17 miles to the
south of San Andrés. Good nesting beaches and developmental habitats for both
hawksbills and loggerheads occur here, but the populations of both have
declined very badly during the past ten years. The islands of this atoll are
the ones most frequently visited by commercial fishermen and turtlers.
Besides being close to San Andrés, ESE has the only fresh water on any of the


73

Loggerheads are caught infrequently at-sea; most are subadults. No defi-~
nite nesting sites for this species were found during the. survey.

Turtle resources in the Leeward Islands have been badly depleted in
recent years, and only the islands which are less developed for tourism, such
as Anguilla, Barbuda and Montserrat, still have reasonably healthy turtle
colonies. Even these, however, are currently being exploited to meet the de-
mands for meat and shell in the tourist centers such as St. Maarten and
Antigua.

One of the major threats to sea turtles in these islands is loss of
nesting habitat. Hotels and high-rise condominiums are rapidly going up on
some of the best remaining nesting shores in the region.

With the exception of the Dutch Antilles (St. Maarten, Saba and St.
Eustasius), there are laws on each island protecting turtles. Enforcement
throughout the region suffers badly, though, from lack of funds and personnel.
The Dutch Antilles have no laws whatsoever protecting turtles or their eggs...

Los Roques, Venezuela

In 1978, A. Carr briefly visited the Los Roques Atoll (Fig. 9) to consult
with biologists of Fundacion Cientifica Los Roques. Information on sea turtle
distribution was obtained from personnel of the station who were operating a
headstarting program for hawksbills. In November of 1980, Meylan visited Los
Roques for six days, to obtain additional information, particularly about the
distribution of sea turtles elsewhere around the atoll. An aerial fly-over of
the entire atoll was made, to assess the extent and quality of nesting and
foraging habitats. The islandsof Gran Roque, Cayo Pirata, Isla. Agustin,
Carankey, and Isla Fernando were visited by boat in order to conduct inter-
views with fishermen knowledgeable about sea turtles.

The extensive reefs and grassbeds of the atoll provide excellent foraging
habitat for green turtles and hawksbills, and these are the two most common
species in the areas A number of green turtles that had been tagged while
nesting at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, have been caught at Los Roques, providing
further evidence of its suitability as a foraging ground. The atoll is
largely uninhabited, except for the northeastern corner, around the town of
Gran Roque. Fishermen recognize the best turtle foraging areas as those most
remote from this settlement, in the southwestern corner of the atoll (Fig. 9).

~ Hawksbills, locally called rapi, are the principal nesters. Green
turtles are thought to be more common than hawksbills, but they nest much less
often. Loggerheads also nest in small numbers. Specific nesting and foraging
areas of all species will be described in the final report.

Leatherbacks, locally called cardon, apparently do not. nest in the
islands, although they have been captured at sea with eggs. There is no evi-
dence of nesting by olive ridleys, although they are said to occur as occa-
sional waifs in the area.


30

Bimini, Gun Cay and Riding Rocks

1976 none 1,051 ~ 900

1977 : 1,020 6,970 3,866
Cat Island .

1976 30 70 none

1977 none 389 none
Eleuthera a —

1976 2,038 3,611 1,197 |

1977 : . 508 4,882 1,264
Exuma Cays

1976 145 425 550

1977 none 645 550.
Long, Island

1976 none 133 147 |

1977 . none none 423
Mayaguana , Looe

1976 none, none none

1977. none none 200
New Providence .

1976 91 231 none

1977 1,796 2,263 none |
Ragged Islands and Western Bank . .

1976 4, 350 21,404 3,100

“1977 805° 13,412". 3,360

Research. For twenty years the Caribbean Conservation ‘Corporation has
had a small colony of green turtles in. a sSeven-square-mile impoundment at.
Union Creek, Great Inagua. The original aim of this was to test rearing
techniques. Today the colony is being maintained as a valuable source of data
on. the growth.rate of young and subadult green turtles under quasi-natural.
conditions. The Creek was the site of feeding .ecology: research by Karen
Bjorndal, who is continuing, to collect data on the growth of green turtles and
loggerheads there. . ‘s

Caicos Islands

Sources of Information. Very little has been published about the sea
turtles of the Caicos Islands. Anne Meylan Spent a week, beginning August 3,
1979, in the islands and gathered information from interviews with fishermen,
fisheries personnel, and local residents on the following islands: South
Caicos, Middle Caicos, North Caicos, and- Pine Cay.

Nesting Habitat. The Caicos Islands group consists of six major tslands
(West Caicos, Providenciales, North Caicos, Middle Caicos, East Caicos,:-and
South Caicos) and a number of smaller cays. The Caicos Bank, a shallow sandy


16 .

malecén and elsewhere in the city. Mortimer visited one of the workshops in
which tortoiseshell products are manufactured. She was told that raw carey
shell-is becoming difficult to obtain, both because it is illegal and because
the turtles are becoming scarce. The shops-were therefore reducing production
of ‘tortoiseshell jewelry, and were instead turning to plastics. . Aceite de
tortuga (sea turtle oil) is readily available:in all the coastal. towns.

Research. None.

Tabasco, Mexico

Sources of Information. Henry Hildebrand’s recent review of sea turtle
history and distribution in the Gulf of Mexico includes some information ‘on
Tabasco. © Jeanne Mortimer visited’ the area in December 1978 and interviewed
people at Sanchez Magallanes, Frontera, and San Pedro. © Although fisheries
officials in Mexico City and an informant in Ciudad del Carmen both suggested
that: Sanchez Magallanes would yield information about sea turtles, the people
there seemed little interested in the subject, and most’ were unable to identi-
fy the pictures of sea turtles shown them.

Nesting Habitat. No major nesting beaches aré known in Tabasco, although
there is scattered nesting by green turtles, hawksbills and loggerheads.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Both juvenile and. mature
stages of loggerheads, green turtles, hawksbills and ‘ridleys are captured

offshore, but only in very small numbers. The ridley was said to be themost
frequently taken, and at least one female that had been tagged on the nesting
beach at Rancho Nuevo was recovered at Dos Bocas, Tabasco. Small concentra-
tions of leatherbacks. have been seen in Tabasco, especially off Barra San
Pedro, during the months from August to November. :

Exploitation and Protection. Sea turtles are taken whenever they are
encountered in Tabasco, but turtling is not- extensive there and apparently
never has been. :

Research. None.

Campeche, Mexico

Sources of Information. The published information. on Campeche sea
turtles is well summarized in Henry Hildebrand’s recent review. In December
1978, Jeanne Mortimer visited coastal. towns in Campeche and interviewed local
people in San Pedro, Zacatal, Ciudad del Carmen, Isla de Carmen, Isla de
Aguada, Champaton and the City of Campeche, “She obtained additional. informa~
tion on the area from Pesca officials in Mexico City, Alvarado and the city of
Campeche.

Nesting Habitat. Unbroken stretches of white nesting beach éxtend
eastward all the way from the Tabasco-Campeche border to within a few miles
beyond Laguna de Término. In this area, the hawkshill was reported to be the
most abundant nester, followed by the loggerhead. Green turtles come ashore
only occasionally. © Northeast. of Sabancuy, and all the way to the city of


22

The revolutionary government of Nicaragua has expressed interest in
establishing a Miskito Cays National Park that would enhadce the protection
afforded by the Tortuguero National Park to the turtles while they are nesting
in’ Costa Ricae Subsistence turtle fishing by the Miskito Indian population
would be permitted, but commercial hunting would ‘bé’ excluded. The new
Nicaraguan government lacks funding for the project, and is seeking financial
assistance from foreign agencies.

Research. At the present time, no research on‘ the sea turtles” of
Nicaragua is in progress. vias we

Costa Rica

Sources of Information. Most of the available information on Costa Rican
sea. turtles was gathered during the course of the 25 years that we have been
tagging turtles at Tortuguero. In March 1980 Larry Ogren and A. Carr made a
low level aerial survey of the entire coast from Greytown, Nicaragua’ to the
Panama frontier. Yearly surveys of the shore between’ Puerto Limon and ‘the
Nicaraguan frontier have been made. The area south of Cahutta’ to Sixaola,
needs to be more thoroughly. surveyed: ‘ . .

Nesting Habitat. The largest ‘breeding colony of chelonta in’ the
Caribbean, and the most thoroughly studied in the world, nests along a twenty-
two’ milé stretch of beach between ‘the mouths of Rio Tortuguero’ and Rio
Parismina. Nesting is most’ concentrated “about midway between these two
points.’ Each season for the past 25 years, from 4,128 to 27,041 females*have
nested ‘there, between July and September.” A leatherback rookery of moderate
size is also found‘on this coast. ‘Leatherback testing is most concentrated’at
Matina, ‘about 35-miles south of Tortuguero, but ft occurs “all: ‘along the coast-
line*from’ the Nicaraguan bordér to Moin, mainly between March and June. Some
nesting: by hawksbills occurs along the entire Costa Rican’ coast, especially
between Tortuguero and‘ Parismina, and on the coral. beaches from -Cahuita’‘to ‘the
Panama” frontier. ~Loggerheads and ridleys have not been reported nesting on
the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

Adult _and Developmental Foraging “Habitat. Immature green turtles and

hawksbills of all post "lost year" sizes are found off southern Costa Rica,
between’ Moin and the “Panamanian bordér. » A good -hawksbill.-habitat. is in
northern’ Costa Rica near the Nicaraguan ‘border. Concentrations of -mature
hawksbills are found ‘the “year around’ foraging on Tortuguero ‘Bank; especially
in late spring. ‘¢Half+grown ’ loggerheads® turn: ‘up occasionally -around patch
reefs’ from Moin southward, but little foraging habitat for Toggetheads” and
even less‘ for Teatherbacks is in Costa Rica. i

* Exploitation and Protection. For-the past 16 years there kas been ‘a: law

‘prohibiting the taking: of séa turtle eggs “from any of the* Beaches: of ° Costa
Rica. Gradually the laws have béen augmented ‘and tighténed but ‘abuse still
‘occurs. Since 1977 when Costa Rica became a signatory to the CITES *conven=
tion, it has’ been illegal to take sea turtles, with the exception of those
allowed under subsistence quotas. Turtling to supply the local: market in
Limon is allowed, but nowhere within 6 kilometers of shore. The northern
three-quarters of Tortuguero Beach is under the jurisdiction oft the Tortuguero
‘National parks which was established in- 1976.


- 18

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Although direct observations

were not made, there is evidently extensive foraging habitat on Campeche Bank
for juvenile and mature green turtles, hawksbills and loggerheads, especially
near the offshore cays and reefs.

Exploitation and Protection. Shrimp trawling is intensive along the
coast of Yucatan, and turtles are taken incidentally, although the extent of
the catch is not clear. Much tortoiseshell jewelry is retailed in Merida.

Research. None.

Quintana Roo, Mexico

Sources of Information. David and Peggy Carr surveyed the region during
late July 1978, visiting Felipe Carillo, Puerto Morelos, Playa Carmen, Tulun,
La Colonia, Chetumal and other coastal localities, and interviewing local
people there. In early January 1979 Jeanne Mortimer visited and carried out
interviews in northern Quintana Roo: at Isla Mujeres, Isla de Cozumel, Playa
Carmen and Puerto Juarez. :

Nesting Habitat. All along the coast of Quintana Roo and on offshore
islands, from Isla Holbox south to the Belize frontier, there: are patches of
sandy beach on which turtles nest. The section of the mainland shore that is
most regularly used is near Boca Paila, where the most frequent nesting is by
loggerheads, and some green turtles. Hawksbills nest there only rarely. ~ On
the leeward beaches of .Isla Contoy nesting by hawksbills is frequent; green
turtles and loggerheads nest in moderate numbers on the windward side. .

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Fringe reef and seagrass beds
are abundant off the coast of Quintana Roo. These provide foraging habitat for

both juvenile and mature loggerheads and hawksbills. Twenty-four tags put on
turtles nesting at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, and one tagged at Aves Island have
been recovered from the northeast coast of Quintana Roo.

Exploitation and Protection. Turtles are taken in nets set in about 45
feet of water, in. areas where turtles are know to have regular sleeping
refuges. The law prohibits taking hawksbills at all times, and all other
species and their eggs are legally protected during the nesting season (April

“to. July). However, enforcement of the laws is difficult. Shrimp trawling is
heavy along the northeastern coast of Quintana Roo, and this may kill some
turtles. On Isla Mujeres there is a turtle crawl so constructed as to. give
the turtles access to a nesting beach. When adult females are captured in nets
during the nesting season, they are put in the pens and allowed to lay their
eggs before being slaughtered. During the 1978 season, about 5,000 eggs
obtained in this manner were hatched. Isla Contoy is protected as a natural
reserve for both parrots and sea turtles. During the summer of 1978, between
15 and 20 turtles were tagged there. Employees of Pesca were wmable to esti-
mate what percentage of the total nesting population that number represented.

Research. None.


31

shelf, extends 20-40 miles south of the island chain. There appears to be no
_concentrated nesting by any species in the islands. What appear to be suit-
able nesting beaches are mostly distributed along the windward (northern) side
of the islands, and on the offshore cays to the south, especially Seal Cays
and Ambergris Cays. Hawksbills are the most abundant nesters, loggerheads
nest in smaller numbers, and green turtles emerge only rarely. Leatherbacks
have not been found nesting in the islands.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. The entire northern perimeter
of the island chain is fringed by reef... Hawksbills of all sizes inhabit the
fringing coral reefs and the outer southern cays (Seal Cays and Ambergris
Cays). Tidal swamps along the southern shores are extensive, and juvenile
green turtles are abundant there in the mangrove creeks. Meylan’s observa-
tions in the Caicos corroborate evidence from other localities that young
green turtles sometimes occur in mangrove creek habitat. Little green turtles
are also found in the cuts between the major islands, and in the Bottle Creek
areas Adult green turtles are uncommon, but occasionally are seen on the
Caicos Bank at the Ocean Hole, a natural depression off the south coast of
Middle: Caicos. Green turtles of unspecified size feed on grass beds off the
northeastern coast of Middle Caicos. Small numbers of loggerheads of all size
groups are encountered; there are juvenile loggerheads in shoal areas along
the fringing reef. Leatherbacks are almost unknown to the local people, but a
former fisheries officer reported that they seasonally pass by Drum Point, on
the northeastern corner of East Caicos. Several informants spoke of mulatto
turtles, which could possible be ridleys, but are more likely young logger-
heads. Descriptions of the mulatto were conflicting.

Exploitation and Protection. Because of the present lucrative trade in
lobster and conch, exploitation of marine turtles is minimal in the Caicos
Islands today. Apparently no commercial turtling is now practiced, although
turtles are taken incidental to lobster and conch fishing. Juvenile and
subadult green turtles are chased dow in boats and captured by hand--partly
for sport and partly for consumption. Some tortoiseshell is traded to Haitian
buyers, but the amounts involved are insignificant. No tourist trade in .
tortoiseshell jewelry and curios. was noted, although this may occur at
Providenciales, which is the major tourist center. .

The Fisheries Protection Ordinance, effective 12 July 1976, prohibits
taking hawksbills of carapace lengths less than 17 inches, and green turtles
with carapace lengths less than 15 inches. Taking turtles above the low water
mark is illegal. No one may take, buy or sell turtle eggs. Although the
fisheries officers generally seemed conscientious about “enforcing such
restrictions, because of limited manpower, the level of enforcement is prob-
ably inadequate.

Research. No sea turtle research is in progress.

Jamaica

Sources of Information. An extensive early literature indicates that
Jamaica was an important center of sea turtle exploitation during the early
days of exploration and colonization of the Caribbean. The status of the sea
turtle populations of the island are briefly discussed by Rebel (1974) and


13

several others. Lew Ehrhart and his students are studying growth rates. and
local movements of loggerheads and green turtles.in their foraging habitat in
Mosquito. Lagoon, Florida. Seasonal changes in the structure and abundance of
loggerhead aggregations in the Port Canaveral Ship Channel are being monitored
by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

‘

Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas

Sources of Information. The ‘sparse published dnformation on the sea
turtles of this region has recently been augmented by data on tagged turtles
retaken in shrimp trawls, and from surveys of the area made by Larry Ogren for
NMFS in 1977 and 1978. -Henry Hildebrand (in press) has written an exhaustive
summary of the status of sea turtle populations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nesting Habitat. Today, virtually no nesting by any kind of sea turtle
occurs on U.S. shores'of. the Gulf of Mexico west of Florida. Sparse nesting
by loggerheads has’ been reported on the Chandeleur Islands of Louisiana, and
even more rarely on the adjacent islands of Ship,. Horn and Petit Bois in
Mississippi and Alabama. Since early times loggerhead eggs have been gathered
by local people on these and other nearby islands, but very little nesting
occur there today. Larry Ogren has suggested that loss or degradation of
suitable nesting habitat, caused by storms, may have been the most important
factor in’ depleting Louisiana’s nesting populations. The same cause may
account for ‘the almost total lack of nesting on the Florida Gulf Coast: from
Tampa to Panama City. Although much’ of the Texas coast appears to’ offer
beaches. suitable for turtles, there is also a surprising dearth of nesting
there. Occasionally, a Kemp’s ridley or loggerhead comes up to nest on South
Padre Island, but the historical record indicates that nesting on Texas
beaches has always ‘been sparse. Larry Ogren has suggested the possibility
that in Texas waters, onshore currents driven by predominantly southeasterly
winds during the hatching season would impede successful dispersal of the
hatchlings, and might be responsible for the lack of nesting colonies ‘there.

Adult _and Developmental Foraging Habitat. The most abundant species of.
sea turtle in the Gulf of Mexico used to be Kemp’s ridley. Henry Hildebrand
has. suggested that the species might logically be called the "Louisiana
turtle," because it congregates in the crab-rich shallow waters between March.
Island and the Mississippi Delta. Of 39 tags recovered from adult female
ridleys that had nested at Rancho Nuevo, eighteen came from Louisiana’s
western parishes, 4 from the eastern parishes, 6 from the Mississippi. River
Delta, 6 from Texas, 3 from Mississippi, 1 from Alabama and 1 from Florida.
Captures in shrimp trawls off Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, are frequent.
Louisiana and the Tabasco-Campeche .area of Mexico appear to be the major
feeding grounds for adult Kemp’s ridleys. Juvenile ridleys 6 to 8 inches in
shell length have ‘been captured by trawlers in an area near Mobile Point
Peninsula, Alabama, locally referred to as the "Big Gulley," and off nearby
Dauphin Island. This area is possibly a regular developmental station for L.
kempi of ages somewhat younger than those once seasonally abundant on the gulf
coast of Florida.

“Loggerheads frequent the entire continental shelf, including the outer
shelf banks, and are fairly common around oil platforms, rock reefs and ship-
wrecks off both the Texas’ and Louisiana coasts. An active green turtle


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72

Quitasuefio Bank. No beaches exist anywhere in this extensive area of
shallow water--only reefs and rock patches. There is good feeding ‘habitat for
hawksbills and loggerheads, however, and also a few patches of turtle grass.
No trustworthy reports of resident green turtles could be obtained, but the
half-dozen people who knew of the southward migration of green turtles past
the San Andrés reef believed that some of the itinerant turtles may come from
Qui tasuefio. The waters of the bank are very difficult to navigate, and
accordingly the developmental hawksbill population there is less heavily
exploited than in most localities in the archipelago. : mee

Roncador Cay. Roncador is a small cay located on Roncador Bank, due
south of Serrana and east of Providencia. It is only about 400 yards long -and
has low, sparse vegetation. There are two short but formerly very good
hawksbill beaches, and on these loggerheads also occasionally nest. There is
also excellent reef-system habitat, inhabited by foraging adult and juvenile
hawksbills, with loggerheads in about the same proportion as elsewhere in the
region. Roncador is too far away to be regularly visited by fishermen from San
Andrés, but they go there occasionally, especially during the nesting season
of ‘the numerous seabirds that nest on the cay. Boats from" Cartagena
frequently fish there, and everybody. interviewed agreed that turtles of this
classic and formerly populous hawksbill habitat have declined sharply.

Leeward Islands

All ‘of the Leeward Islands (Fige 8) were surveyed by Meylan during 1980
and 1981. Return visits were made to selected islands that seemed to warrant
additional attention. Antigua, Anguilla and Montserrat were visited a second
time, to meet with national delegates of the West Atlantic Turtle Symposium.”

A substantial percentage of the nesting habitat in these islands has tow
been reconnoitered, mostly on: foot. Interviews were conducted with ‘turtle
fishermen, divers, shopkeepers, and residents living along beaches, to obtain
information on species occurrence, abundance and seasonality. Reconnaissance
of developmental and adult foraging habitats was made by boat surveys and by
diving. A survey of marine habitat types recently completed by the East
Caribbean Natural Areas Management Program provided valuable information on
the distribution of beaches, sea grass beds, and living reefs, and facilitated
the present survey of marine turtles. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation
provided ECNAMP with detailed data on turtle nesting and foraging habitats. for
inclusion in resource maps that are’to be distributed to each East Caribbean
country. ‘ . hs

The two principal marine turtle species in the Leeward Islands ate green
turtles and hawksbills. Both appear to be year-round residents. Hawksbills
nest to a greater extent than do green turtles, but nesting -by both species ‘is
sparse to moderate. Specific nesting and foraging localities for both ‘species
will be described in the final report.

Leatherbacks are far less common in the Leewards than green turtles-and
hawksbills, but small concentrations nest at several localities. Sts Kitts
has what further observations may reveal to be the best nesting aggregation” in
the island group, although it is difficult at this point to estimate the size
of the population. :


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Interviews and Other Sources of Data

The field procedure in the survey has been-a combination of direct obser-
vation and interviewing. The relative emphasis given the two depended on the
special. circumstances ‘at each locality. Direct observation and reconnaissance
were undertaken wherever they seemed feasible and promising. The techniques
varied according to local conditions. Evidence bearing on the composition and
ecology of the turtle fauna was sought in aquariums, fish houses, local shops
and museums. Because the period of the survey was limited, repeated. visits to
a locality were usually impossible, and information obtained by conversations
with qualified local residents was therefore of great importance. In. some
cases verbal interviews were supplemented by. mailed questionnaires, but. these
reached only a small percentage of the people capable of contributing useful
information. In a few instances a locality had been recently visited by other
invesitgators, seeking some of the same data, and they were able to provide us
with answers to some of the questions we were asking. .In a few places within
the survey area, research or management programs were in effect, and any
published material on the objectives or results of these were studied before
the locality was visited.

Because this investigation depended heavily on interviews, an effort was
made to standardize the process of questioning. . For that purpose, the
following procedural outline and sample questionnaire were organized, and more
or less consistently used as a guide. .

Suggestions for Conducting Interviews

In interviewing fishermen, fisheries officers or anybody else, the objec-
tives are much the same, but the technique will have to vary: markedly. Some
informants may be willing and able to fill out a written. questionnaire, but
some will not. And if there is anything more likely to .alienate a humbly
educated informant ‘than’to be’ asked to fil% out.a questionnaire, | it is for the
questioner to take down his answers verbatim. on a,clip board. _Taped inter-
views are useful, but here again, some informants get nervous if. you ask their
permission to. tape the talk, and even more so if you try to do. it surrepti-
tiously. Thus, if you can possibly do. so, memorize your checklist, do as
little writing as possible during. the interview, and when you finish, go away
ito a quiet place, write dow what you learned, and. fill out. your ow question-
naire. If there are gaps, and if the informant was good, go back, apologeti-
cally. Topics of inquiry can be organized according to the following catego-
ries: : :

1. Data on the informant. Get the name, address, sex, approximate age,
and occupation of the informant. Make a special effort to judge his relia~
pility--what. his ‘experience and his opportunities to accumulate first-hand
infermation have been; and for how long a time, and in what, localities, his
familiarity with turtles was acquired. This assessment, can be used as part of
the basis for a grade that you will give each interview, when, completed.

2. Species of sea turtles that occur in the Breas Find out ‘what kinds
of turtles. the informant believes occur in the area.: Get at this by easy
cross-questioning; avoid prompting or leading him into more élaborate answers
than his. knowledge justifies. Once the occurrence of a’species is. confirmed,
get all local names used for it, be they English, Spanish, Miskito,


28

of the islands. Sparse to moderate loggerhead and hawksbill nesting occurs on
both islands. A few green turtles nest on Abaco each season. No leatherback
nesting was. reported for any of the four islands surveyed.

Adult_and Developmental Foraging Habitat. At Great Inagua, the. green

turtle is the species most commonly seen and caught, and hawksbills are second
in abundance. Loggerheads are now only rarely seen. Green turtles and hawks-
bills of all sizes occur, but most of the loggerheads: are mature. Adult
leatherbacks are occasionally sighted in deeper offshore waters. Green
turtles congregate in protected, shallow water bays, or "creeks," often
mangrove-bordered, all around the island. Hawksbills and green turtles are
both seen. over coral heads and reefs; loggerheads occur in a wide variety of
habitats. All species are present the year around.

At both Andros and Abaco the turtles most often seen are juvenile green
turtles and hawksbills, both of which are usually found over seagrasses and
algae-covered bottoms. At Abaco they occasionally’ move into salt water
mangrove creeks. Juvenile loggerheads are less common; they inhabit coral
reef and rock-shoals, and occasionally enter salt water creeks. The most com
monly. encountered adult turtles are loggerheads and hawksbills, which appear
to be resident at all seasons. Adult green turtles were not reported at
Andros. One informant emphatically insisted that, years ago, he saw a huge
flotilla of ridleys in deep water off the northwest side of Andros.

Information. from 15 questionnaires asking: which species are present, and
which nest in the area involved is tabulated below. Symbols used are as
follows: G = green turtle, H = hawksbill, L = loggerhead, Le = leatherback
and R = ridley. lLeatherbacks were always teported as rare; at’ Abaco ridleys
were reported as very rare, and were said to be “half hawksbill and half
loggerhead." . .

\ No. of - Species
Locality Res ponses Present Nesting

Walkers Cay 1 G, H, L, Le G, H, L
Grand Bahama 1 . G, H, L, Le . G, H, L
Abaco 4, G, H, L, Le, -R G, H, L
Bimini, Cat Cay co

& Gun Cay. 2 G, H, L, Le G, H, L
Eleuthera 2 G, H, L L
Long Island -2 G, H, L, Le G
Conception 1 G, 4, L \ G, H-
San Salvador 1 G, Hy L no data
Great Inagua 1 G, Hy, L G, H, L

Exploitation and Protection. On Andros and Abaco, turtles are hunted for
local subsistence and for: export to Nassau... Both eggs and turtles are taken
whenever possible. The most popular. turtling technique is "jumping" and
spear-gunning. Hawksbill is the preferred meat, and tortoiseshell is shipped
to Nassau to be prepared for sale to. tourists or for export as unworked


64

Cays, where according to Dr. Barney Nietschmann, the best is Maroon Cay. When
the. flight northward from Dakura to Honduras is made, the entire coast of
mainland Central America will have been surveyed at least once.

Costa Rica

Work in Costa Rica was done in collaboration with personnel of the
Caribbean Conservation Corporation turtle camp at Tortuguero. The most impor-
tant contribution from the Tortuguero project is the unique record of long-
term demographic trends in the site-fixed nesting. population based on the
Tortuguero breeding shore.

As the work under this contract has proceeded, it has grow increasingly
clear that quantitatively reliable sampling of sea turtles in the sea is ex—
tremely difficult to achieve. The habitats can be visited and mapped, and
valuable information on octupancy and trends can be obtained from multiple
standardized interviews with fishermen and turtlers. But hard data of a kind
that can be used in any worthwhile calculations of population levels are
available only on a nesting beach. The most useful information comes from a
beach that is the sole nesting ground of the population, and on which tagging
and monitoring have been conducted through long periods of time.

On those scores the nesting ground at Tortuguero is better qualified to
yield useful population data than any sea turtle rookery in the Caribbean; -and
it. is the most thoroughly studied population in the world. The data generated
there should: greatly increase the significance of results from fragmentary
aerial sampling done under the contract elsewhere.

- The table below shows results of the last ten of. the 26 seasons of the
Tortuguero program.

No. Turtles Recorded Est. Turtles Est. Females

SMile Study Beach Nesting on in Nesting
Year Remigrants Recruits Total 22-Mi. Beach Population
1971 150 725 875 7,440 12,347
1972 183 1,416 1,599 10, 727 16,998
1973 133 _ 836 969 11,829 19,095
1974 103 489 592 7,897 13,119
1975 147 514 661 10,171 17,550
1976 352 2,046 2,398 22,727 30, 359
1977 101 328 429 5,464 9,029
1978. 529 2,268 2,797 31,211 44,028
1979 104 324 428 5,178 8,079
1980) 691 2,479 3,170 52,046 76, 316 .
1981 212 378 590 8,430 13,695 :
X= 23,692

A striking feature of this record, and a cautionary lesson to over-
anxious demographers, is the drastic fluctuation in the size of the nesting
colony... These data should be pondered by anybody setting out to use data from
nest-track surveys as indices to population levels. The seasonal differences
at Tortuguero obviously do not reflect actual changes in the sexually mature

*naded in press.


66

and Table 2). All beaches in the province were flow again in April, 1981, as
part of a complete fly~over of the Caribbean coast of Panama (Fig. 3 and Table
3); Meylan repeated ground surveys at important beaches during May and June,
1981 (Table 4).

These surveys, in conjunction with interviews with local turtle fisher-
men, have provided much new information on the distribution of sea turtle nes-
ting in the province. Two new nesting localities for the leatherback ‘have
been discovered~~Playa Chiriqui, on the mainland coast between Rio Catiaveral
and Rio Chiriqui, and Playa Changuinola. The only other nesting site pre-
viously known for this species on the Caribbean coast of Panama is at Bahia
Aglatomate, in the San Blas Islands. As is shown in Table 4, 834 tracks of
leatherbacks were observed at Playa Chiriqui in mid-Jume, in spite of the fact
that the count was made near the end of the season. The tracks and nests were
of varying ages, and they may have represented several weeks nesting. Approx-
imately 15-20 leatherbacks were still nesting nightly. Tracks on all but the
uppermost part of the beach had been scoured away by high tides, and thus any
estimate of the number of turtles nesting there would be conservative.

Nesting at Playa _Changuinola extends from Bocas del Drago northward at
least as far as the Rio San San. Several other minor nesting sites for the
leatherback have been located in the province, and will be reported later.

Leatherbacks are rarely seen in the waters around Bocas except during the
nesting season. Several are caught incidentally in nets set for other sea
turtles, but they are usually released unharmed. No evidence that their nests
-were poached was found on any of the surveyed beaches.

Another aim of field work in this province has been to determine the
impottance of Playa Chiriquf as a hawksbill nesting shore. For many decades,
this beach has been reputed to be the site of aggregated nesting by the hawks-
bill. This is particularly interesting, in view of the fact that hawksbills
are characteristically dispersed nesters. Although only sparse nesting by
this species was observed during the two visits to the beach (see Tables. 2 and
4), interviews with turtle fishermen and former veladores have convinced us
that hawksbills nested here in considerably greater numbers in the past.
Since the 1930s, each mile of the beach has been leased out to veldadores for
the specific purpose of catching nesting hawksbills as they emerge to nest.

The low track counts observed can be attributed to several factors. Most
important is the severe depletion of the hawksbill nesting population there.
Prices for tortoiseshell have reached as high as $50 per pound in recent
years, thus creating extraordinary pressure on the population. Other minor
factors are the protracted nesting season, which lasts for at least six
months, and the short lifetime of tracks on this storm-swept beach. Enough
hawksbills still nest there to support a velador system, but it is the high
cost of shell, rather than the abundance of hawksbills, that keeps the system
profitable.

Dataj on the distribution of hawksbill nesting in the remainder of the
province, as well as its occurrences in foraging, developmental and migratory
habitats, will be discussed in the final report.


67

Green turtles nest in small numbers at several localities in the pro-
vince, but it is primarily in foraging habitats that they are abundant. There
are extensive seagrass beds in the lagoon that provide forage for both resi-
dent and migratory green turtles. Approximately 20 tags that were originally
put on turtles nesting at Tortuguero have been recovered during field work in
Bocas since 1979. This brings the total number of tags recovered in the
province to 43. Figure 4 and Table 5 show the distribution of recoveries from
Rio San San to Colon. Only two other tags have been recovered in Panama: one
at Porto Bello, and the other at Sordo Cay, near Isla Grande.

Green turtles in transit between Tortuguero and feeding grounds in
Panama, Colombia and Venezuela are the target of a net fishery in Bocas del
Toro. In good years, sufficient numbers of turtles are caught to warrant
building crawls to keep them in, until they can be butchered at the public
market. They are no longer shipped to Colon from Bocas on a commercial scale,
but they are an important part of the diet of coastal people throughout the
province. This fishery has provided us with the opportunity to obtain morpho-
metric data on male green turtles that are presumably members of the
Tortuguero population. Such data are unavailable at Tortuguero, as there is
no legal fishery there.

An unexpected finding of the survey is the occurrence of loggerheads in
Chiriqui Lagoon. Loggerheads, in general, are scarce along the Central
American mainland, and practically the only nesting sites are in Colombia and
in the Nicaraguan Miskitia. The mollusk-rich waters of Chiriqui Lagoon pro-
vide good forage for this species, and there is one beach in the lagoon where
they are reported to nest. This is Daira Beach, west of Rio Guariviari (Fig.
2). The beach was surveyed on foot in June, 1981, but no tracks were seen.
Additional surveillance of this beach is warranted, in order to determine
whether it is in fact used by loggerheads today, and if so, to what extent. -

In April of 1981, Meylan made an aerial survey along the Panamanian coast
from Colon east to Puerto Obaldia, near the Colombian border (Fig. 5 and Table
6). The offshore islands were not surveyed. Much of the coast consists of
rocky shores and mangrove-fringed bays, and is unsuitable for nesting. An
important, discovery of the survey was another sizable new leatherback nesting .
locality at Playa Pito (Fig. 6). More than 126 tracks were counted on the 6-
mile beach, between the mouths of Rio Pito and Rio Armila. This beach, also,
deserves further attention.

Field work. in Panama is still in progress; this report constitutes a
preliminary summary of results there.

The San Andrés Archipelago

This is a preliminary report on the status of sea turtle populations and
exploitation in the islands of the San Andrés Archipelago, off the eastern
coast of Nicaragua. Since early times the people of the main islands, San


25

Colombia

Sources of Information. A. Carr and John H. Phipps visited Islas del
Rosario. during the 1960s. The status of the Colombian sea turtles is discussed
briefly by Rebel (1974) and Bacon (1975). Kaufmann (1975) published results
of ‘tagging studies of Colombian loggerheads. In a recent unpublished report,
Tufts discussed results of the tagging project being conducted under the
auspices of the. Instituto del Desarrollo de Recursos Naturales Renovables
(IENDERENA). A proposal from INDERENA to IUCN entitled, Programa para la
protecction y conservacién de la tortuga, Dermochelys coriacea, en las costae
del noroeste de Colanbia, gives some information about the turtles in that
regions Tom Carr surveyed the Colombian coast between Punta Baru and Santa
Marta during October 4-12, 1978, obtaining information from interviews, and by
diving on the coral reefs at Islas del Rosario. The Guajira Peninsula is
probably the most important turtle habitat in Colombia, and this remains
unsurveyed. _

Nesting Habitat. Good nesting beaches, especially for the hawksbill,
occur dmong the Islas del Rosario. Tom Carr.found that hawksbills still
emerge there regularly, though in small numbers, and that some green turtles
and loggerheads nest there as well. Good beaches occur on the mainland
between Cartagena and Santa Marta, and loggerheads, hawksbills and green
turtles occasionally nest there. Reinhard Kaufmann suggested that the beaches
of .the Guajira Peninsula are generally unsuitable for nesting, but Tom Carr
heard reports. that leatherbacks nest there. Some leatherback nesting otcurs
from March through June on 10 miles of beach in the Choco, on the coast of
the Gulf of Uraba. . :

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Extensive reefs exist in the
Islas del Rosario, and local people consider the region to be excellent hawks-

bill: habitat. Also, moderately extensive grass flats occur there, but green
turtles: are infrequently seen. In most’ of Caribbean Colombia, mature green
turtles are less commonly encountered than adult loggerheads and-hawksbills.
Extensive turtle grass habitat exists off the Guajira Peninsula, however, and
many of the 58 tags put on turtles while they nested at Tortuguero, Costa_
Rica, and recovered in’ Colombia, came from Guajira. .

Exploitation and Protection. Exploitation has been heavy, especially on
the mainland, .and Colombian sea turtles are generally depleted. Along the
poverty~ridden. northern coast, virtually every nesting turtle is turned when.
found, and her eggs taken. Turtles are also netted offshore, but too few are
left to support a commercial fishery. A. Carr has received word that two
factories, operating semi-clandestinely in Bogota, fashion furniture from
tortoiseshell. Although laws to protect sea turtles exist, there is general
lawlessness in the places in which turtles remain, and enforcement of the
regulations is difficult. INDERENA is making an’effort to protect a 37-mile
stretch of loggerhead nesting beach east of Santa Marta.

Research. |, During the late 1960s Dr. Reinhard Kaufmann initiated a turtle
tagging program on Buritaca- “Beach, 31 miles east of Santa Martae Since 1970;
INDERENA has taken over that program. INDERENA has recently submitted a
proposal to IUCN for a study of the leatherback nesting colony in the Gulf of
Uraba, in the Choco of Colombia.


77

Table 2. Ground survey of tracks or nests of Dermochelys coriacea and
Eretmochelys imbricata on Playa Chiriqui, Panama (8°56°N, 81939°W), 21-23 May,
1980. Tracks and nests of varying ages are represented.

Dermochelye coriacea

Section of beach No. of Tracks or Nests No. of Halfmoons
Miles 0-7* 139 3
Miles 7-12 101 2
Miles 12-18 106 I
Totals 346 . 6

Eretmochelys imbricata

Section of beach No. of Tracks No. of Halfmoons
Miles 0-7 4 1
Miles 7-12 0 t)
Miles 12-18 13 0
Totals 17 1

* Distance estimated from Rio Canaveral


The most important remaining geographic gaps in coverage of the region we
set out to investigate are the island of Cuba, parts of the Bahamas, the
‘ Honduranian Miskitia, the Nicaraguan mainland shore, the Guajira Peninsula of
Colombia’ and Venezuela, and the smaller islands and banks of the western
Caribbean. That Cuba and the Guajira will be adequately surveyed at any early
date ‘seems unlikely. Most of the other areas will be visited in new phases of
the survey, however, and additional field work will be done at ‘some of the
nesting grounds to determine seasonal changes in density. Work in Brazil
projected in our original contract proposal was deferred because of word that
Surinam and Brazil were undertaking a. joint..program of surveys and tagging
“along the éntire Brazilian coast and on the offshore islands. We have been
‘invited to join that group, to collaborate in both the habitat assessment and
the platined tagging projects.

Procedure

_. Although the work under the present contract has made a useful’ contribu-
tion to knowledge of American sea turtles, we did not reach the firm ground
“hoped for in quantifying habitat occupancy by the different species and stages
of the life cyclés of the turtles. Our previous interim report included a
matrix in which a prevalence grade for every locality was assigned to: each
ecologic or developmental stage of every marine turtle species that occurred
there. The aim was to extend this system of grading to the whole territory.
The more we learned about the fauna, however, the more difficult it became to
make relative assessments of the kind the matrix required, simply because
actual head counts were impossible in almost every stage of the life cycles of
_sea turtles. When more of the geographic. and seasonal gaps have been filled
by later phases of the work, another tabulation of gradings will be attempted.
Meanwhile, in the present report, a simpler graphic grading scale was used.in
“the accompanying distribution maps.

Nesting Ground Surveys

Virtually the only means of making valid numerical assessments of marine
“turtle populations is to cout female turtles or their nests on the breeding
_beaches, and even this procedure is beset with difficulties. As interest in
‘marine turtles spreads, however, increasing numbers of people aspire to make
nesting censuses. To learn simply where nesting occurs, flying low along the
coast in an airplane during the nesting season suffices. To translate aerial
track counts “into estimates of population size is ‘a more complicated
“procedure.

: As a’ purely exploratory procedure, aerial surveys demand no special
knowledge, beyond an elementary understanding of sea turtle biology. The
“first requirement is to be sure of the identity of the species that has made
the tracks. If the. proper signs are kept in mind, this is usually possible,
and often it is no trouble at all. The tracks of big turtles, Chelonia and
“Dermochelys for example, are naturally wider and more deeply cut than those of
small species, and are more likely than the other three genera to lead to con-
spicuous body pits. “A second requirement is to distinguish tracks leading. to
actual nest sites from trial crawls. Still another is to judge the time-span
over which the tracks have accumulated. Were they all made last night, or
since last Thursday, or when? Useful judgments depend on a number of factors.


Surveys of Sea Turtle Populations and Habitats
. in the West Atlantic

Interim Report to
National Marine Fisheries Service

April 1980

Introduction

Although none of the species of sea turtles in the Caribbean has become
extinct, all are represented by remnants of once extremely abundant popula-
tions. -The major decline in their numbers took place long before the current
concern over endangered and threatened species. The changes that have occur=
red during the last few decades are relatively minor, compared with those of
previous centuries. Destruction of green turtle and hawksbill colonies,
especially, began with the very. earliest explorations and: has continued for
300 years. The abrupt decline of Kemp’s ridley came much later, but has been
cataclysmic. ‘Destruction of loggerheads and leatherbacks has been less dras-
tic, but. even they have been reduced or depleted over wide areas. This his-
torical background of drastic reduction must be understood if existing popula-
tions are to be given the appropriate..attention that will avert continued
losses. Efforts to assess west Atlantic sea turtle populations and the fac-
tors involved in their survival and rehabilitation are essential.

An important extension of our original work plan, one that ought to be
part of any new phase of the West Atlantic. Survey, is to recognize the vital
importance of longshore current systems and weed-line shears as habitats to be
surveyed ~ wherever this can be done without unreasonable outlay for ship
time. An understanding of shear-line geography is critical to the search for
the "lost" post-hatchling stage of sea turtle ecology, as are also the places
and times at which the juveniles leave that stage and invade the benthic
littoral habitats. in which they mature. Until this information is available
our knowledge of the life cycle is seriously incomplete, and effective conser-
vation is handicapped. To achieve better knowledge of shear-line distribution
and seasonality seems essential to an understanding of sea turtle ecology.

Another important aspect of the biology and ecology of these turtles that
should be investigated is their reaction to winter temperatures in the
temperate zone extensions of their ranges. These areas should be searched for
hibernation, sites and other evidence of overwintering. As more is learned of
the seasonal. distribution of - size groups, overwintering may prove to be
increasingly likely in some populations.


14

fishery once existed in Texas, chiefly in Aransas Bay, Matagorda Bay. and
Laguna Madre, where good feeding grounds occur.: This: industry had‘ disappeared
by 1900, and today green turtles are found in greatly’ reduced’ numbers,’ and
mostly small sizes, in the lower Laguna Madre near Port Isabel. Mature ‘and
juvenile leatherbacks have been found feeding on jellyfish along a 30 mile

line northeast from Port Aransase

The hawksbill is, and perhaps always has been, clearly the rarest turtle
in the Gulf of Mexico. No records of mature hawksbills exist. from the coasts
of Alabama, Louisiana or Texas, but a few small individuals have been reported
from Port Masfield and from offshore oil rigs. oon oY vee

Exploitation and Protection. ‘As was guggested abéve, exploitation; both
private and commercial, ‘has been’ considerable “inthe past. -“ Today all sea
turtles and their nests are protected by law in U.S. waters, and poaching is
probably rare. However, ‘all sea turtle species in the Gulf are’ under intense
pressure from incidental catch in shrimp trawls.

“Research.- Much of ‘the experimental work by NMFS. on ‘the excluder panel
for shrimp trawls has been carried on in the northern Gulf. A headstarting
project is in’ progress at Galveston, Texas as part of the rescue program for
Kemp’: ridley. _ : : -

Tamaulipas, Mexico

Sources “-of Information. For some 15 years’ the Instituto Nactonal de
Pesea has conducted tagging and management projects in the Gulf of Mexiéo and
several repotts on their results have appeared. Since 1976; Pesca,‘ in collab-
oration with the U.S. Department’ of the Interior and NMFS;* has “developed an
intensive program to’ rescue thé ‘declining edlony ‘of L. kempi, the only nesting®
ground of which is located in Tamaulipas. ' : ‘ . . ~ :

Nesting Habitat.’ The sole breeding ground of Kemp’s ridley is a+l2-mile
stretch of the Tamaulipas coast at Rancho Nuevo, about 90 miles north of
Tampico. Nesting occurs there from April to July. As recently as 1963, the
nesting “population was estimated at 42,000. females; by 1975 it had declined to
perhaps five’ hundred. A few green turtles “also ‘nest ‘ach year at ‘Rancho
Nuevo. Much heavier nesting by: Chelonia may’ once have’ occurred on the
beaches from Boca Jesus Maria to Tuxpan. This area was likely the source of
the ‘turtles ‘that supplied a Texas turtle cannery in the nineteenth century.
Before World War II, green turtles nested regularly at Playa Washington, about
12 miles south of the mouth of the Rio Grande. Isolated loggerhead nests have
been reported at Rancho ‘Nuevo. Scatteréd reports*of" nesting by turtlés north
of La Pesca (Hildebrand, in’ press) probably refer to Caretta. A few leather=
backs nest each year at-Rancho Nuevo. ‘No hawksbill nesting has been réported
on any Tamaulipas beach. ‘ . . Bea

Adult and Developmental Foraging Uabitat. Apparently the offshore
regions of Tamaulipas do not serve as regular feeding habitat -for any species
of sea turtles. , ° —

Exploitation atid Protection. Heavy exploitation of nesting sea turtles
and their eggs ‘has occurred in Tamaulipas in the past. © Except’ on the Rancho
Nuevo beach, which is now well protected, this continues to the present.



have been. away for three years. A smaller number reappear after ‘two years,
and still. fewer after four years. A female may. shift from one interval to
another, and she may also shift back again. An admitted defect of the Carr,
Catr and Meylan equation is that it assumes that all females will be seen in
later seasons, whereas fewer than half of a season’s nesters are ever seen
again. At Tortuguero, for “example, this "Lost majority" is around 70 percent.

There has been much recent discussion of possible causes of the failure
of these turtles” to be observed on the nesting beach in subsequent seasons.
Some possibilities are as follows: i"

1. Loss by sampling serror-—tags are lost without "leaving discernible
_ Scares.

2. loss to predation. .

3. Loss to old age or disease.

4." Loss to exploitation.

5. Loss to incidental’ catch. .

6. Loss because ag | a genetic tendency to breed only one time.

There is a difference of opinion among. ‘turtle students regarding the
relative importance ofthese and other possible causes of the loss of breeding
females. The greatest. uncertainty is that surrounding the actual numbers, or
even the existence, of the: one-season nesters. Until these uncertainties are
resolved, the best approach in calculating the number of mature females in a
population seems to us to be to: 1) apply the remigration formula suggested
by Carr, Carr and Meylan (1978) to only the remigrant fraction of the yearly
nesting total (this yields an estimate of the number of mature females in the
remigrant pool); ‘and 2) add to this figure the number of turtles that are
nesting for. the first time, that season. The resulting number is an instanta-
neous estimate of the number of reproductive females in. the population, based

on that one season’s number of arrivals. In itself, it is not a very useful

estimate, because there are drastic year-to-year fluctuations in the numbers
of. turtles nesting at most breeding grounds. Yearly changes in size in the
nesting population of Chelonta mydas at Tortuguero, Costa Rica are indicated
as follows:.

1971. . 7,440

1972 : 10, 727
1973 11, 829
1974 ; 7,897
1975 ; 10, 171
1976 22, 727
1977 - 5, 464
1978 31, 211
1979 5,178

Such fluctuations appear to be widespread, and to occur in all sea turtle
genera. The..variation does not reflect actual changes in the numbers of
breeding females in the population involved, nor does it reflect breakdown of
nesting site fidelity. Possible causes are discussed by Carr et al. (1978).
Whatever the explanation may be, it seems clear that a valid calculation of
total breeding populations cannot be based on the numbers of females nesting
‘in one:season, but must: involvé’ averages from several seasons.


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Table 3 (Cont.)

‘Zone 1 (continued)
111

Boca del Drago to Rio Changuinola
Rio Changuinola to Rio San San 32

Rio San San to Rio Sixaola not surveyed

(to Costa Rican border)

D.M.A. - Defense Mapping Agency, U.S.A., nautical chart.

oM.S- - U.S. Army Map Service; prepared with Direccién de Cartografia de
Panama, available through Instituto Geografica Nacional, Panama.



82

Table 6. Results of an aerial survey of turtle tracks on the Caribbean coast

of Panama, from Colon to Puerto Obaldia, 28 April 1981, 0624-1200.
Tracks of varying ages are included; not all were associated with
nests. Most can be attributed to Dermochelys coriacea. The entire
mainland coast was flow, but only localities within each zone
where tracks were.observed are noted. Abbreviations for map
sources are given below. Observers: Anne Meylan, Argelis Ruiz;
pilot: Jose Hall.

LOCALITY uo TRACKS
Zone 3 Colon to Nombre de Dios (D.MeAs 26066): (0)
Zone 4 Nombre de Dios to Punta San Blas (D.M.A. 26065):
Cuango . 1
Playa Chiquita (east of Cuango River) 2
Beach at 7905°W 2
Zone 5 Punta San Blas to Punta Brava (D.M.A. 26064, 26061, - 26042) 0
Zone 6 Punta Brava to Isla de Pinos. (Ustupu, Sheet 10, 1:25,000
Especial I.G.N.; Ustupu, E762X1389 III, AM.S.):
Mansukum (Portogandi) - northwest of Rio Navagandi 3
‘Napakanti (Navagan di) . 1
Zone 7 Isla de ‘Pinos to Kwipkan sukun Murru (Caretto E762X1388 IL
and E762X1388 IV):
Beach east of Napakanti Tiwar River 5
Bahia Aglatomate 10
Zone 8 Kwipkan sukun Murru to Puerto Obaldia (La Palma, Sheet LI,
1:25,000 Especial, I.G.N.; Anachukuna E762X1388 II, A.M.S.5
DeMeAs 5693):
Rio Pito to ®io Armila . 109°
(two indep- counts) 126, est.
DMA. - Defense Mapping Agency, U.S.A., nautical chart.
I.G.N. - Instituto Geografica Nacional, "Tommy Guardia", Ministerio de Obras
Pablicas, Panama. . .
A.M.S. - U.S. Army Map Service; prepared with Direccién de Cartografia de

Panama, available through Instituto Geografica Nacional, Panama.


20

green turtles have all been reported nesting there, although in what number is
not know. The hawksbill is the most frequent nester, and. the green turtle
the least. frequent. Crocodiles occasionally nest along the same stretches of
beach used by sea turtles at Cabo de Tres Puntas.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Apparently, reefs and live
bottom are almost non-existent along this coast and immature sea turtles are

rarely seen anywhere. Some mature green turtles forage in Guatemalan waters,
on a seasonal basis, from December through: May. Three tag recoveries from
green turtles tagged while nesting at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, have‘ been made
in Guatemala.

Exploitation and Protection. A subsistence sea turtle fishery is active
on the Guatemalan coast. Eggs are taken from the nesting beach and sold in
Puerto Barrios and Guatemala City. Shrimping is: heavy in- Guatemala, and
turtles are regularly drowned in ‘trawls. Loggerheads appear to suffer from
this most . extensively. Taking eggs and turtles during July, August and
September is banned, but this seems to be universally ignored.

Reséarch. No sea turtle research is in progress on the’ Caribbean Coast
of Guatemala.

Honduras

Sources of Information. The very limited amount of published information
on the sea turtles of Honduras provides no adequate indication of the status
of populations there.. David and Peggy Carr visited the Bay Islands in August
1978, and also gathered ‘information along the western half of the mainland.
The eastern section of Honduras, especially the Honduranian Miskitia, is
unsurveyed, and badly needs attention.

Nesting Habitat. Green turtles, hawksbills and loggerheads all nest on
the extensive beaches between Puerto Cortés and La Ceiba but their numbers are
greatly diminished. The green turtle nests regularly, though not abundantly,
on Vivario, Becerro and Caratasca Cays. Rebel (1974) alluded to group nesting
by the leatherback, but gave no locality. Nesting has not been surveyed in
the Miskitia. —

Adult _and_ Developmental Foraging Habitat. Good developmental habitats
for. green turtles, loggerheads and hawksbills occur around all the Bay

Islands, but the whole area is badly depleted. Along the remainder of the
Honduranian coast, little reef development is found. From the Bay Islands to
Cabo Gracias a Dios extensive grass flats exist. Green turtles, hawksbills
and. loggerheads frequent that region, and leatherback sightings are fairly
common there. Twenty-seven returns of tags from females tagged while nesting
at Tortuguero, Costa Ricd have come from Honduras, mostly from the eastern
sections of the coast.

’ Exploitation and Protection. Some hawksbills are killed for their shell,
but by far the heaviest pressure on turtles in Honduras comes from incidental
catch in shrimp trawls. All shrimpers interviewed admitted to catching green
turtles, loggerheads. and hawksbills with some regularity. No actual figures
were available. Turtles appear to be taken wherever they are found.


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NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFC-91

SURVEYS OF SEA TURTLE POPULATIONS AND

HABITATS IN THE WESTERN ATLANTIC

Archie Carr, Anne Meylan, Jeanne Mortimer,
Karen Bjorndal, and Thomas Carr

March 1982

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service

Southeast Fisheries Center

Panama City Laboratory

3500 Delwood Beach Road

Panama’ City, Florida 32407-7499


broken line, boat surveys.

70S
5 353/03 Ne
EDINBURGH CAay.
neur

Le

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- ae
Figure 1. “Routes of
sea turtle surveys in
eastetn Nicaragua.” Solid
line,,aerial surveys;



43

Tobago Cays is a National Park, under the authority of the National
Trust. Birds are protected there and fishing is restricted, but marine
-turtles are apparently not specifically protected...

Research.. None.

Grenada

Y Sources of Information. . Rebel (1974) and Bacon (1975) briefly discussed
the marineturtles:of Grenada. Anne and Peter Meylan visited the islands of
Carriacou and Grenada during the period January 5-9, 1978. On Carriacou,
interviews were conducted at Hillsborough and Windward. Aerial reconnaissance
of the Grenadines southward from Carriacou to Grenada was made in a small two-
engine airplane. .In Grenada; interviews were conducted on the west coast at
St. .George’s. Place, on the south coast at Woburn and La Sagesse, and on the
east coast at Crouchu, Soubise, Grenville, Conference and La Poterie.

Nesting Habitat. Favorable nesting habitat for marine turtles in the
Grenadines is .extensive. Hawksbills are the prevalent nesters. From April
through October they come out on several beaches on Carriacou (Petit Carenage,
north of Tarlton Point, at Grand Bay, Anse La Roche, Bogles ‘and Hillsborough
Beach) and on nearby Sandy Island, White Island, Mopion, Punaise, Petit Saint
Vincent and Petit Martinique. Nesting also occurs throughout the southern
Grenadines. A few leatherbacks nest each year on Carriacou, at Petit Carenage
‘and Anse La Roche. =No loggerheads or green turtles nest on these’ beaches.

On ‘Grenada also, hawksbills and leatherbacks are the predominant nesters.
They emerge in small numbers, during the summer months, all ‘along the southern
‘and western coasts (Hog Island, Little Bacolet Bay, La Sagesse Bay, Soubise,
Pearls) .and on Levera, Sandy Island, Green Island and Caille Island. Nesting
by leatherbacks appears: to be moderately concentrated onthe east coast, on
the beach extending from Telescope Point north to La Poterie. Leatherbacks
‘also nest. on ‘the southern shore at Hartman’s Lagoon (near Woburn), L’Anse ~
Epine, Caliviny, Hog Island, Westerhall and Baccaye. Green turtles nest only
rarely; two reports of their emerging on Marquis Island were received. *
Loggerhe ads nest rarely on Grenada.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. The extensive shallow waters °
and reefs of ‘the Grenadines provide excellent foraging habitat for green

turtles and hawksbills, both juveniles and adults. Green: turtles are more
common there than Hawksbills. Fishermen set turtle nets around Carriacou and
the surrounding islands. One. green turtle that had originally been tagged
at Aves Island was caught there, as was a head started green turtle that had
been. released in. Surinam. Loggerheads are third in abundance in the
Greniadines. Leatherbacks are occasionally sighted at sea, and an exception-
ally small.(20-pound). individual was once caught near. the southern shore of
Carriacou. °

Around Grenada also, green turtles are the most numerous turtle. They
:sometimes.. reach huge sizes, allegedly up to 700 pounds. Green turtles and
hawksbills of all post-lost~year sizes are year-around residents. Most turtle
fishing-on the island is done along the southern and eastern shores (Woburn,
La Sagesse, -Crouchu, Soubisse, and La Poterie). A green turtle originally


finish an interview, go away quickly, record facts and impressions, and then
grade your informant on the information he or she provided and your confidence
in it.

Te Migratory routes. Migration is an important feature of sea turtle
ecology, with strong bearing on management problems. As was suggested
earlier, in talking with an informant you may have trouble distinguishing
between the ideas of itinerant migratory passage, and the periodic occupation
of developmental or foraging stations. Try to learn what may be know locally
about regular routes of migration, such as those of loggerheads in the Florida
Straits, and leatherbacks off Texas or the Florida Panhandle or the coast of
New England. On the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua the Indians are very familiar
with the paths of green turtles going to and from the Tortuguero nesting
ground in Costa Rica. Ask every seaman you talk with whether he ever saw a.
lot of turtles together at sea; and if so, where, when, and how many} and what
he figured they were doing. Try. to keep this idea of in transit migratory,
movement separate from seasonal occurrence in an area or habitat.

8. Exploitation. Besides information concerning the kinds, abundance,
seasonality, and habitat distribution of sea turtles in the places visited,
data on exploitation should be collected. Are turtles and turtle eggs taken
for local: use, for export, for both? Learn what techniques turtlers use, andTM
at what times of the year they operate. Find out whether hawksbills are
legally taken, and whether there is a local shell industry. How about turtle
skins? Try to get a clear idea of any export trade in turtle products that
now goes on, and of its survival outlook in the light of recent regulations of
international commerce. Be careful also to learn all you can about local
markets for turtle meat and shell. Try to decide whether, if all exports were
stopped, subsistence hunting would still be an important ‘drain. Also, make a
special effort to determine whether local demand for turtle meat and eggs is
mostly restricted to the coast, or extends into the interior.

9. Turtlé jaws and regulations. If published material on regulations
in a. place to be visited is available, read it ‘carefully before your
departure, as-background for interviews. On reaching your destination..inquire
at local government fisheries offices about the current status of turtlé”
legislation. In order to judge public awareness of restrictions and regula-
tions; when you.carry out your interviews ask each individual questioned if he’
can tell you anything about local turtle laws. See if he knows whether it is”
legal :.to catch turtles; whether there are closed seasons, quotas, or size,
limits; whether taking eggs is illegal. Asking about this will be helpful in
grading public awareness of, and attitudes toward, sea turtle regulation.

10. . Incidental catch. Our tag returns from Tortuguero very clearly show.
that, as the shrimping fleets of the Latin American countries have grown, |
there has been a strong rise in the frequency of turtles caught accidentally
in trawls. Get estimates (or records if they exist) of numbers of turtles
taken this “ways Try to determine what species and size groups are taken,
whether they are sold or eaten by the boat crews and their families, and
whether there are regulations designed to control incidental catch.

11. Management. The aim of another series of questions is to record and
evaluate any government. management programs that may be in effect--predator
control, nest protection, hatchery projects, colony transplantation, or head


Papiamento, Carib, or -any other Indian or European- language or dialect in
local use. Only when you are confident that the informant knows one kind. of
sea turtle. from another, record the names used, and proceed with your inter-
view.

3. Seasonality and ecology of foraging adults. For each species,
determine whether mature turtles occur in the. region and how the informant

knows .they are mature. ire. Ask, whether they are present as year-around residents,
or only during part. ‘of. the year. re idea of a seasonal resident may. get
mixed up with that-of a seasonal migrant (see below); but the two are differ-
ent. Get information ‘on both if possible. Try to learn. what habitats mature,
resident turtles, - occur- “in, and. how numerous they are in. those habitats.
Obviously, you can-only expect a relative assessment, because there is. no
known way to count, turtles in most foraging habitats; but try to, get the best’
idea possible. Try harder. to. get a valid impression as to how extensive, and
how- well occupied, . any “Local foraging habitat for resident adults of each
spécies is. .

4 Seasonality and ecology of developmental stages. Once the above
information on resident adult turtles of each species is obtained, solicit the

same. information on’ the developmental’ stages--dinner-plate to. submature
sizes. Closely question anybody who. seems to have reliable understanding of
and information on’ the habitat distribution and seasonality of the various
size-classes of séa turtles. : Z

"5. - Nesting. ‘The nearest. approach to reliable quantitative information
on’ population levels that can be expected from this survey will come from
nesting censuses.” In . the few places in which tagging programs have been in
progress, . these will be by far the best sources of data. Most tagging is done
where nesting turtles come together . in seasonal’ aggregations the members of
which .are, to some éxtent at least, ‘site-fixed; and for some species,
Chelonia, for “example, these gatherings may constitute a big part of the
population. © Tn. other ‘species-—the hawksbill for instance-~separate individual
nesting. ‘appears to be. far more. prevalent. In spite of these differences, an
obligation of the survey is to assess any nesting that -may occur in each area.
In’ _asking. questions about nesting, use charts and maps to identify sites where
concen trated ‘emergences may occur. Try also to get per-mile estimates for
separate. ‘nestings ° by ‘each .species ‘that ig represented. Wherever it seems
watranted ‘and feasible, interviews should. be supplemented. by inspection, and
in, “special cases, by aerial coun ts.

6.°° Changes ‘in population ‘levels. Another aim of the interviews is to
see whether populations are, in local opinion, stable or changing; and if the
latter, how and to what degree. This will be hard or. impossible to, determine
reliably in ‘most cases. . Estimates of effort. expended per. turtle caught, is.an
approach; but not a very good one. Fisheries archives and: landing records, if
there are: any; may. yield helpful ‘data. For instance, one of several trading
stations that ‘existed along the Miskito Coast ‘of Nicaragua two: hundred years
ago .exported four tons of tortoiseshell in 1778. To compare this. figure with
1978 exports is useless; the ‘trade is now illegal, and records are defective.
Nevertheless, four: tons of shell two huadted ‘years ago does suggest that there
has been.‘a spectacular decline ‘of hawksbills in the region. In ‘questioning
people about” population decline, seek ‘out old, sensible. individuals’ who seem
interested’ in. the subject and are not scared by the questions. When. you


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39

Martinique

Sources of Information. The only publications on the marine turtles of
Martinique are a report that appeared in a French fisheries journal in 1958
and the previously mentioned status paper by A. Kermarrec on the turtles of
the French Antilles.

Martinique was surveyed 24-27 December 1978 by Anne and Peter Meylan.
Interviews were conducted along the east coast from La Trinite south to St.
Anne, and at Ft.-de-France, Case-Pilote, and Le Precheur on the west coast.

Nesting Habitat. Except along the north coast, beaches exist all around
the perimeter of the island. Those on the west coast (between Ft.-de-France
and Le Precheur) are characteristically short, narrow, and highly developed.
The beaches on the south coast are much more extensive. That at Le Diamant,
as seen from the air, appeared to be very long. On the eastern coast there
are relatively fewer beaches; those at Macabou, Le Vauclin and La Trinite were
reconnoitered during the survey. Beaches that appear to be good for nesting
exist on some of the offshore islets such as Loup Garou and Ilet a Madame.

The predominant nesting turtles on Martinique are hawksbills and leather-
packs. Both species nest at the following locations: Loup Garou, Macabou,
Bay d’Anglais, Pointe des Salines; of these Macabou is the most. important.
Hawksbills also nest at Ilet a Madame.. The nesting season of the leatherback
is February-March, although some informants reported nesting into late summer.
The hawksbill season is March through late summer. Green turtles apparently
do not nest on any of the above-named beaches. Local people are familiar with
the green turtle nesting colony at Aves Island, and believe that the local
turtles go there to nest. No loggerhead nesting was reported.

On the west coast, nesting occurs at Anse Ceron, north of Le Precheur,
but the species involved was not identified. Many sections of the coast of
Martinique were not reconnoitered during this survey, and additional nesting
areas probably exist, particularly along the southern shore.

Adult_and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Extensive reefs and sheltered
waters occur along the southern two-thirds of the east coast. This area is
important feeding and developmental habitat for green turtles and
hawksbills. Although green turtles do not nest here, they are the most common
species in the local waters. Several tags have been recovered from green
turtles in this area--one from a turtle originally tagged while nesting at
Tortuguero, Costa Rica, and three from turtles tagged at Aves Island. Logger-
heads ranging in size from subadult to adult are also fairly common. _ They
live farther offshore than the other two species. It is not know whether
they are permanent residents of the area or are just passing through at
certain times of the year...One informant reported that they were most common—
ly caught from December through February. No juveniles of this species are
mow. Leatherbacks are also usually caught far from shore. Fisheries offi-
cers in Robert reported that they are taken seasonally near Trinite, possibly
when coming in to shore to nest. One juvenile (approximately 16 inches
straight carapace length) was caught in the vicinity of Le Francois; it was
preserved and taken away by a civil official.


80

Table 4. Ground survey of tracks or nests of Dermochelys coriqcea and:
Eretmochelys imbricata on Playa Chiriquf, Panama (8056°N, 81° 39°W),
Tracks and nests of varying ages are 7

13-14 June 1981.
represented.

hawksbills emerged to nest.

Dermochelys coriacea

On the night of 13 June, 16 leatherbacks and 3 |

Section of beach .

No. of Tracks or Nests

No. of Halfmoons

not counted

Miles 0-9* 445,
, Miles 9-18 389 not counted
Totals 834

Eretmochelys imbricata

Section of beach

No. of Tracks

No. of Halfmoons

Miles 0-9 6 0
Miles 9-18 7 a
Totals 13 1

*Distance estimated from Rio Caiaveral



27

Nesting Habitat. Small numbers of turtles — leatherbacks, green turtles
and hawksbills - nest on the northern and eastern coast of Trinidad. A. Carr
recorded two green turtles nesting at Mayaro and a hawksbill near Brigand
Hill, both on the eastern coast. The most prevalent nester is the leather-
.back, the total. nesting population of which was estimated by Bacon in 1972 to
number 400-500 mature females. On Tobago, leatherbacks, green turtles and
hawksbills all nest, though nowhere in aggregations. No olive ridley has been
recorded nesting in Trinidad.

j . Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. A. Carr found the olive ridley
to:.be- well. know to fishermen along the northern coast of Trinidad. His
_dnformants there also knew. the other four genera well, and spoke of leather-
backs migrating. into and through Trinidad waters at the time of flooding of
the: Orinocos No assessment of the frequence and abundance of turtles in the
longshore or offshore waters of Trinidad and Tobago has been made but there
clearly is an important migratory route along the ‘northern coast. Green
turtle foraging grounds occur in the Gulf of Paria, and a turtle that had been
tagged on. the Tortuguero. nesting beach was captured there. Many of the green
turtles taken. off the northern coast of Trinidad are immature. .

Exploitation. and Protection.: Since early times the sea turtles of this
region have been heavily exploited and they obviously are seriously
depleted. Laws in Trinidad protect sea turtles and. their eggs only. during the
nesting season, from 1 June to. 30 September. Bacon. describes the laws as
inadequate, and -poorly.-enforced, and estimates.-that. during the. period 1969-
1972, about, 30%. of, nesting. turtles. were killed.on the beach. In 1977 Peter
Feinsinger of the University of Florida saw several freshly. killed leatherback
turtles on the beaches of Tobago. °

: -Research. No. sea turtle teSearch is at present. Being carried out in
Trinidad and: Tobago...

Bahama: s
Sources of Information. Except for.the early general accounts, little
information on sea turtles in the Bahamas has‘been published. Karen Bjorndal
. surveyed. Great and Little Inagua ,islands, during. an 18-month sojourn studying
green turtles in Union Creek. Later, Bjorndal distributed a sea turtle ques-
. tionnaire.to all commissioners. and..to other individuals recommended by ‘the
Ministry: of. Agriculture .and. Fisheries., . Replies were received from 15
people. In November 1979 Tom Carr carried out surveys and interviews on Abaco
Island and the southeastern coast of North Andros Island. Colin Higgs of the
Bahamas. Ministry of. Agriculture,.Fisheries .& Local. Government provided data on
turtle landings in Nassau. , Most. of, the 700-mile-long. Bahama archipelago
remains unsurveyed. This remains the biggest gap in our work under the NMFS
contracts.

Nesting Habitat. At Great Inagua, the best nesting beachés are located

on the. southeast side, of the island, Small numbers of loggerheads, hawksbills
. and green turtles nest there each year». The green turtle season is from June
to September; loggerheads nest from April to July, and. hawksbills the year
around. The same species nest on Little Inagua in somewhat greater numbers.
At Andros and Abaco there are suitable nesting beaches only on the east sides


44

tagged at Aves Island was captured at Black Bay (St. Marks Parrish). Logger-
heads are typically of subadult size in Grenada; few are smaller than 40
pounds. leatherbacks are seen only during the nesting season. No small indi-
viduals are present.

Exploitation and Protection. The season from 1 May through 30 September
is closed. Fishermen appear to be well informed about local laws, but they do
not necessarily abide by them. Exploitation of marine turtles in Grenada is
moderately intense. The trade in stuffed turtles and shells is lively in the
Grenadines between local fishermen and tourists passing through in yachts. On
Grenada, turtle products sell for high prices in the tourist shops. One adult
hawksbill was priced at 750$ E.C. The meat of all species is eaten locally,
although that of the leatherback and loggerhead is not relished. Meat sells
for 1.75$ E.C. per pound. Turtles are taken on nesting beaches, and in some
places are netted as they approach the beach to emerge. No protected areas
exist.

Research. Melvin Goodwin is conducting a head-start project for hawks—
bills in Carriacou.


26

Venezuela

Sources of Information. The second most important nesting ground for
Chelonia in the Caribbean is Aves Island, a Venezuelan’ possession where about
600 green turtles nest annually. The colony there has been monitored by
William Rainey, and more recently by personnel of FUDENA (Fundacion para la
Defensa de la Naturaleza), with whom we are collaborating. Assessment of the
seemingly meager sea turtle populations and nestings along the mainland coast
of Venezuela is incomplete. During the past few years Fundacion Cientifica Los
Roques has monitored turtle activities at Los Roques Atoll, and A. Carr visi-
ted those islands in June 1978. Karen Bjorndal obtained some information on
turtle activity in the Gulf of Paria, and at the mouth of the Orinoco River.
Recoveries of tags from green turtles tagged on the nesting beach at
Tortuguero, Costa Rica, outline the distribution of adult foraging habitat off

’ Venezuela.

Nesting Habitat. In 1979, 76 nests were counted: at Los Roques, of which
63 were hawksbills, 7 were green turtles and 6 were loggerheads.. Only one
leatherback nest was ever reported there, in 1974. The major nesting colony
at Aves Island received a serious setback in 1979 from Hurricane David, which
almost completely removed the sand from the island. Subsequently, waves and

“winds have mostly restored original sand levels, and results of the 1980

season are being awaited with great interest. - Karen Bjorndal brought back
reports of nesting by hawksbills at the mouth of the Orinoco River. Addition-
al nesting surveys on the remainder of the coastline are warranted, although

‘all indications to date are that no significant nesting occurs.

Adult _and Developmental Foraging Habitat. There have been 26 Venezuelan
tag returns from turtles tagged at Tortuguero. Seventeen of these came from
the Guajira Peninsula, three from the Paraguana Peninsula, three from Los
Roques, two from Isla Tortuga and one from the Gulf of Paria. Nineteen of the.
turtles tagged while nesting at Aves Island have been retaken at sea, but none
in Venezuelan waters. Most of the recaptures were made in the Dominican
Republic and the Windward and Leeward Islands. Two Aves. turtles were retaken
at Miskito Cays, Nicaragua, and one at Isla Mujeres, Mexico. .

Exploitation and Protection. After long neglect, Aves Island is now well
protected by personnel of. the Estacion Cientifica Militar. At Isla Los Roques
the Fundaeién \ Ctentifica Los Roques has launched a hatchery program and a
campaign to protect nests. from poachers. Mainland beaches ‘receive little

_ protection.

\ . oo :
Research. FUDENA and the Fundacién Cientifiea Los Roques are conducting

~tagging projects at Aves Island and Los Roques.

Trinidad and Tobago

Sources of Information. A. Carr surveyed the northern and eastern coast
of Trinidad in the 1950s (The Windward Road, pp» 30-38, 114-117, 121-122,
1958). In a series of papers Peter Bacon has summarized. information on sea
turtles in Trinidad and Tobago.


63

abreast of the Pearl Cays, to Little Sandy Bay above Dakura, and thence out
over Miskito Bank in a route shown in the appended figure (Fig. 1).

The aim of the coastal survey was to inspect the beach for evidence
bearing on the apparent lack of concentrated turtle nesting anywhere along the
entire 400 miles of the shore. In the 120 miles of flight from Pearl Point to
Dakura, we recorded only eight nesting tracks, all old and partly obliterated
by rain. The involved species was in no case determinable.

The dearth of nesting by loggerheads, green turtles and leatherbacks is
probably attributable to low-energy wave action along this entire section of
shore. The weak wave action, in turn, is obviously a result of the broad
array of offshore banks and cays. Why there is not more hawksbill nesting on
the mainland beaches is not clear, however, because elsewhere that species
comes in to small patches of sand. With few interruptions, the entire surveyed
shore was found to be a continuous narrow platform of gray, mostly volcanic
sand, appearing from the air to be little different from the volcanic beaches
of Costa Rica, including Tortuguero. The disadvantages as nesting beach thus
must be the shallowness of the sand and the resulting tendency for embryos to
drow in the salt water that washes over the beach in high winds, or rises
from sea water level below. This possibility should be investigated by
sampling water levels in the beach-sand profile. Whatever the defects of the
beach, no concentration of nesting was seen anywhere on the section of the
surveyed shore; and interviews along the coast supported the belief that it is
very sparse everywhere.

It should be emphasized that from the air this whole coast gave little
visible sign of being unacceptable as a nesting beach. It is an even, homoge-
nous strand, without rocky approaches, mangroves, or sections cut out by
storms. Two visible clues to its unsuitability were the diffuseness and low
power of the breakers, which even with an easterly wind blowing were not
concentrated along a surfline near shore, but spread in a broad offshore band;
and the presence of banana patches and gardens immediately behind the
strand. The latter indicated a lack of salt spray in the air, confirming that
heavy surf needed to build a nesting beach does not occur.

The aim of the flight and boat cruise through the keys was to observe the
distribution of the various reef-system habitats that make this section of
Miskito Bank one of the world’s most important feeding grounds for Chelonia.
The ecological advantages of the area are the enormous expanses of sea grass
patches interspersed with the coral structures required as "sleeping rocks."
The cruise also afforded the opportunity for careful interviews with the
Creole and Miskito people on board.

Although the eastern-Nicaraguan coast is extensive, there seems little
likelihood that major rookeries will turn up between Bluefields and Cabo
Gracias a Dios. However, flights should be made along the whole coast during
August, when green turtles would be most likely to go ashore. Two sections of
the coast now remain unsurveyed--the piece from Bluefields south to Greytow;
and that from Dakura up to the Honduranian frontier. The flight south from
Bluefields is especially needed, because word-of-mouth information locates a
good hawksbill nesting shore at Cocal, north of Greytown; and the bank off-
shore there is a well-known feeding ground for hawksbills. At present the
only unspoiled Nicaraguan nesting localities for hawksbills are in the Pearl


_ The ‘time of the last obliterating rain must be knowm. - The state of the tidal
cycle on’ the surveyed shore can be important, and .so tiay the time of the last
strong winds. Aerial track counts are more successful if flights are made
before 0800 or 0900. Even then, however, it is. not always. easy. to distinguish
crawls leading to nests with eggs from those ‘marking sites that. have been
prospected and abandoned. This is an important source of error, and the count
must be ref ined by factoring in a trdal-crawl ratio, « ‘even if this is an
estimate. : :

“In| surveying or censusing nesting grounds,. one , should be aware that.sea
turtles, with the possible exception of Kemp’s ridley, nest in two patterns:
‘aggregated and dispersed. The pattern of Kemp*s ridley is + in the present
depleted state of the population - totally concentrated, and ‘though there is
evidence that some dispersed nesting may formerly have occurred, this is. hard
to corroborate. In the hawksbill, the dispersed pattern is ‘most prevalent in
the west Atlantic system. All .the other sea turtles nest. singly over wide

areas, and gather in aggregations at a few places. An important function of

aerial surveying is to search out nesting aggregations that may “have been

overlooked. Lacking any better source of quantitative data, however, it is
possible to use results of overflights as a basis for calculating thé numbers
of turtles that use a beach. Obviously, to do this even approximately, some-
thing must be mown of the nesting season. If the limits and peak density. of
the season are know, conversion of counted tracks’ to total tracks per’ ‘season
may be attempted, even when only a single flight was possible. on
To convert nest counts to numbers of nesting females, the reiseting
frequency must be known. No known sea turtle population is composed. entirely
of females that nest only once in their season at-the beach. If the average
“renesting number for the population is not known, published. results © from
nearby regions may provide grounds for a reasonable guess. If ‘the. number
should turn out to be, say," 3 nestings per. season, thén.600-nestings. coun ted
during a season, or extrapolated from flight-counts, means that 200 female
turtles were there during the season. That figure is not 4 “population ‘esti-
mate, but it provides’ a, basis for. comparing. a nesting ground with others of
the. species 5 and it indicates the season’s -feproductive potential “for that
segment of the. breeding group. For example, if the average egg ‘complement. of
the species is 120, then 72,000 eggs were deposited “in ‘the ‘section of shore on
which | “counts were made during the season of the survey.

“The next’ step is to.convert the “number of” nesting females’ per séason to
the total number of sexually mature female turtles. If the nesting population
is strongly site-fixed--that is, if it'tends to return to the same place to
breed in successive seasons--and if it. ¢ati be assumed that each female in the
population nests every year, then the ‘total’ number of females” for thé season
obviously represents the total number of sexually mature females in ‘the, popu-
‘Lation. However, with the possible exception of Kemp’s ridley, no sea turtle
population . that has been adequately monitored “anywhere ‘has proved to be com-
poséd of females a majority of which nest every year. Instead, when a “tur tle
finishes a season’s nesting it takes her two, three, or four years--and possi-
bly even longer--to make another migration to the breeding ground. Carr; Catr
‘and Meylan,.(1978) proposed a formula for calculating. total sexually mature
“populations from yearly arrivals at the Tortuguero nesting ground, where indi-
vidual female turtles never breed annually but return on 2,. 3 and: 4-year cycles.
On the average, most remigrants that appear at Tortuguero dur ing ” a season will


17

ie, the. beach becomes darker and is frequently broken by rocky shore-
Little nesting occurs, but occasional loggerheads and hawksbills
Green turtle nesting is extremely rare; no ridleys. or leatherbacks
have “been reported on shore. The western shoreline of the Yucatan Peninsula

northward from the city of Campeche is mostly mangrove bordered, with little
suitable nesting beach.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. The waters off the west coast
of the Yucatan Peninsula, north of Laguna de Término, provide excellent for-

aging for ‘young. and mature loggerheads, hawksbills and green turtles. The
loggerhead is the most prevalent species there, with green turtles and’ hawks-
bills in. lesser, and approximately equal, numbers. Six tags from green
turtles‘ that had been tagged while nesting at Tortuguero have been recovered
.from the vicinity of the city of Campeche, and one has come from the area just
east of Laguna de_ Término. he region around Isla de Aguada there have
been ‘numerous recaptures of ridley:
Nuevo, Tamaulipas. Although fishermen reported that ridleys are now’ very
scarce, the Tabas¢o-Campeche region is probably equal in relative importarce
to the Louisiana region as a foraging habitat for adult Kemp’s ridleys.
Several fishermen reported another type of turtle, known as tortuga caballo,
which they said was bigger than a loggerhead. This was no doubt the leather-
back. Local people reported that both loggerheads and hawksbills can readily
be netted near shore over rocks in about 30-40 feet of water. Near Isla de
Aguada, Mortimer found seagrass (Thalassia testudinum) washing ashore, 80
there is cleatly ‘some feeding habitat in the area. Leatherbacks: are oecasion—
ally seen migrating along the Campeche coast.

“meploitation and_ Protection. For many decades -Campeche’ has harvested
more ‘turtles than any other state on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The catch has
declined “dramatically during the past ten years. The ‘loggerhead is most
heavily exploited by the fishing’ cooperatives. Although it is illegal to take
hawksbills, Mortimer was told in the city of Campeche that shrimpers are
permitted to ‘sell shell from turtles that -are. incidentally drowned in
trawls.. Hawksbill jewelry is: sold in the town of Campeche, and aceite de
tortuga is: for sale in all the coastal towns. During the summers of 1977 and
1978 there was a head starting program in operation at Isla de la Aguada,
under the directorship of Roberto de la Torre, of Ciudad de Carmen’.

Research. None.

- Xucatan, ‘Mexico

“Sources of ‘Information. Henry Hildebrand’s paper is the only summary of
the limited information available on Yucatan ‘sea turtles. - During January
1979, ‘Jeanne Mortimer. obtained additional data there, mostly through inter-
views. Yucatan is badly in need of more thorough surveys.

Nesting Habitat. On beaches along the northern coastline there is limi-
ted nesting. by green turtles, loggerheads, and very occasionally,
hawksbills.s Reports indicate that ‘these three species nest more frequently on
the offshore cays-~Arrecife Alacran, Cayo Arenas, Los Triangulos and Cayos
Arcas. lLeatherbacks occasionally nest at Arrecife Alacran, and fishermen use
them for shark bait there and elsewhere in Yucatan.


81

Table 5. Localities in Panama where green turtles (Chelonia mydas) tagged at
Tortuguero, Costa Rica, have been recaptured. Three turtles were
captured on nesting beaches; the remainder were taken at sea.

Provincia de Bocas del Toro Number of recaptures

Rio Sixaola &
Between Rio Sixabia aid Rfo ‘San San
Rio Changuinola

Isla de Colon

Carinero_

Bastimentos | .

Zapatilla Cays

Almirante Lagoon

Chiriqut Grande (Laguna Chiriqui)
Cusapin’ (Valiente Peninsula)

Cayo Paloma (Valiente Peninsula)
Old. Bess Point (Valiente Peninsula)
Rio Catia :

No specific locality data

i

Provincia de Veraguas
Belén

Rfo Palmilia ~
Salud “9
Chagres River :

PN Pe

Canal Zone |

Colon 1

Provincia de Colon

Sordo Cay (N.E. of Portobello) 1
Isla Grande 1


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4

78

Results of an aerial survey) of turtle tracks.on the Caribbean coast
of Panama, from Colon to’Rio San San, 29 April 1981, 0615 to 1140.
Tracks of varying ages are included; not all were associated with
nests. Most can be attributed to Dermochelys coriacea.. Only: |i
localities within each zone where tracks were observed are noted.
Abbreviations for map. sources are given below. » Observers: Anne
Meylan, Argelis Ruiz; pilot: Jose Hall.

LOCALITY»

Zone” 2°

Zone 1

TRACKS

2
West of Icacal 1
Mid-way between Punta Platanal and Cocle del Norte 2
East of Belén 2
Rio Concepcion to Rio Guasaro 3
Rfo Calovébora to Rio Sixaola (D.M.A+ 26069; Isla Popa,
E762X37431, AeM.sS.3 Bocas del Toro, E762X37442, A M.S. 5
Isla Colon, E762X37443, AM.S.):
Rio Calovébora to Santa Catalina 2
Hast of Rio Pasaula 3
: Penasco de Guapan (Buppan) to Rio Chiriqui 4
Rio Chiriqui to Rio Cataveral 198
(two indep. counts) 190
Long. Beach (Bastimentos) , 6
Dreffe Beach (Bastimentos) 1
Wizards Beach (Bastimentos) . 3

Flat Rock Beach, locally called Floris Beach (Isla de 6
Colon) +

North of Lime Point (Isla de Colon) 2


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61

Interim Report to
National Marine Fisheries Service

August 1981

Introduction

This is an account of work done since our last report was submitted in
April, 1980. The aim of both investigations has been to accumulate data, from
interviews and from aerial, shore, and shore-water surveys, that could pro-
vide, for the first time, some understanding of population levels throughout
the geographic ranges of the sea turtle species that occur in the West
Atlantic system. Nowhere in the world has such wide coverage been attempted.

To determine actual numbers of sea turtles in non-nesting habitats is
almost impossible. Occurrence and relative abundance of the various
developmental and reproductive stages in their separate habitats can be
anecdotally recorded, but to translate the observations into population
estimates now appears to be an intractable exercise. Nevertheless, the
surveys of the non-breeding stages. and their habitats should be, and are
peing, continued, and if nothing more, the results will provide better
understanding of the ecology of the species. Meylan’s work in Panama has
greatly extended our knowledge of developmental habitats in that region; and
surveys there, and in Nicaragua and the San Andrés Archipelago, have advanced
lmowledge of the complex migratory routes of mature green turtles. Work on
the sargassum weed habitat of post-hatchling-to-yearling turtles has confirmed
the fundamental bearing of drift-lines and shears on the suitability of a
given shore as nesting habitat. . 7

The most useful sources of data for quantitative. assessment are nesting
ground surveys. Track counts made on the ground or from the air can, if the
renesting and trial-crawl rates are known, be converted to numbers of nesting
turtles, and if the population is site-fixed and the remigration schedule is
know, to the number of sexually mature females in the population for the
season.

During the period covered by this report, aerial surveys were made wher-
ever appropriate and feasible. Throughout the. territory covered, habitat
types were identified and inspected, and occupancy or the lack of it was
noted. A great deal of time was spent carrying out the standardized, exhaus-
tive interviews described in our last report; and our faith in that procedure
is strong. If carried: out with fishermen - and not just fisheries officers -
by interviewers versed in sea turtle problems, interviews are a valuable and
indispensable tool. From the beginning, however, we have also consistently
solicited, and occasionally received, the cooperation of officials of local
fisheries agencies. In some cases the officials legally responsible for
marine resource management. were found to be not much concerned with turtles,
and our overtures for official collaboration were necessarily directed else-
where. Details of contacts with local agencies and agents are given in the
reports for separate localities.


34

Nesting Habitat. No information.

Adult _and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Dideroy Gicca saw small hawks—
bills near Gonave Island, off the western end of Haiti. Local people living

in the area also had small hawksbill shells hanging as ornaments.

No information was gathered about other sea turtle species.

Exploitation and Protection. Anne and Peter Meylan observed large

amounts of tortoiseshell products for sale in the Port-au-Prince airport. The
origin .of the items was not definitely determined, but the shopkeepers claimed
that the shell came from local sources. The extremely poor economic status of
Haiti makes it seem unlikely that more than the most vestigial stocks of
turtles of any age group remain anywhere about the island.

Researche None is in progress. Surveys are badly needed but will be
somewhat difficult to make.

Puerto Rico, Mona, Culebra Island Group, and Vieques

Sources of Information. Rebel (1974) and Bacon (1975) briefly reviewed
the status of turtles in the Puerto Rico region. Aerial surveys of Puerto
Rico and satellite islands were conducted by David and Peggy Carr (1977). ‘Tom
Carr (1974, 1977, 1978) made extensive surveys of the nesting beaches and
littoral habitats of Culebra and Vieques islands. Surveys of Mona Island were
conducted by Jean Thurston and Tom Wiewandt (1976), and more recently and
briefly by A. and T. Carr and Anne Meylan.

Nesting Habitat. Extensive beaches, by all signs appropriate for turtle
nesting, are distributed along the northern and western coasts of Puerto Rico,
but very little nesting occurs there. Mona Island has approximately 5 miles
of nesting shore, comprising numerous small beaches scattered along the north,
west and south coasts of the island. Numerous hawksbills and some green
turtles and leatherbacks nest on Mona. Both Culebra Island and Vieques have
small nesting beaches scattered around their periphery. A sizeable leather-
back rookery is on Vieques. ‘These and occasional hawksbills are the main
nesting visitants. On Culebra also, leatherbacks and hawksbills are the
dominant nesters. On both Culebra and Vieques green turtles: and loggerheads
nest infrequently, both in smaller numbers than in former years.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. All four of the islands have

extensive coral reef systems and seagrass pastures. The diverse reef areas of
Puerto Rico and adjacent islands are inhabited by hawksbills of all ages and
sizes except for the "lost year" group. Immature green turtles are also
abundant, expecially at Culebra, where they were the prevalent sea turtle. At
Vieques, two distinct size classes of immature green turtles were noted by Tom
Carr. At Culebra and at Mona young green turtles were found in shallow-water
Thalassia beds, around sargassum, and in soft-coral beds where algal growth
was abundant. Mature green turtles were less numerous than juveniles. David
and Peggy Carr recorded both loggerheads and leatherbacks during their aerial
surveys, although nowhere in concentrated numbers. Leatherbacks are evidently
only present during the nesting season. Olive ridleys apparently. stray into


74

Exploitation pressure seems to have slackened considerably over the last
15 years. In former times, green turtles were an important export item. They
were sent live by boat to La Guaira, on the Venezuelan mainland. A law now
prohibits catching turtles or taking eggs. There seems to be a general aware-
nes of the law, although the only enforcement is in the area of Gran Roque,
where the national park guards are stationed. Low-level subsistence use of
turtle meat and eggs undoubtedly continues, and there is evidence of some
trade in tortoiseshell with the mainland and with Isla Margarita. Yachts
visiting the atoll are reported to take turtles and eggs.

The main objective of the Fundacion’s Dos Mosquises field station is
restoration of the hawksbill, although green turtles and loggerheads are also
reared at the laboratory. When turtles attain one kilogram in weight, they
are tagged and released, and their dispersal, survival, and growth in the wild
are monitored.


35

Puerto Rican waters, as they do along much of the borders of the Equatorial
Current. . ,

uxploi tation and Protection. All species of sea turtles have been heav-
ily exploited throughout the region. This is plainly reflected in the very
low density of turtles in excellent habitat near the Puerto Rican mainland.
Although all species of sea turtles and their nests are protected by law in
Puerto Rican Waters, the laws are not adequately enforced, and nesting. females
and their eggs are’ taken whenever they are encountered. Spearing hawksbills
to’ obtain their shells for wall hangings is a popular ‘sport among divers in
the region. Surreptitious netting of turtles is also common.

Research. No scientific research on Puerto Rican turtles is at present
being conducted. Small-scale tagging has been done on Mona Island in past
years. :

The U.S. and British Virgin Islands

Sources of Information. Rebel (1974) and Bacon (1975) briefly reviewed
the status of turtles in both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Recently,
surveys of varying extent were made in the U.S. Virgin Islands by David and
Peggy Carr, William Rainey, Ed Towle, and-Tom Carr. No recent. information is
available on sea turtles. in the British Virgin Islands; they ought ‘to be
investigated at an early dates”

Nesting Habitat. The beaches» of the northern U.S. Virgin Islands (St.
John and St. Thomas) are generally shorter than those on St. Croix. Concen-
trated leatherback nesting, involving perhaps 40 females a year, occurs at
‘Sandy Point on St. Croix... According to some reports there is a small rookery
on» Tortola also,- and. the leatherback nests scatteringly on the other
islands. There is:occasional nesting by -hawksbills throughout the U.S. Virgin
Islands, and more rarely, green turtles come ashore.

Adult ‘and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Coral reef and seagrass habi-
tats are widespread in the: Virgin Islands. Seagrass is particularly‘ abundant

near St. John. ‘Hawksbills and green turtles, ranging from dinner-plate size
to adults, are found: throughout the area. Hawksbills occur more frequently
than green turtles, but both are rare. Leatherbacks- appear only during the
breeding season. © Loggerheads are seen only rarely.

Exploitation and Protection. In. the U.S. Virgin Islands, all séa turtles
and their nests are‘ protected by law. Because of limited personnel,. enforce+
ment is in most* places’ inadequate. As of September 26, °1978, Sandy Point
Beach and adjacent offshore waters up. to 100 fathoms in depth, were declared
critical. habitat: for the leatherback nesting colony. Plans are at present
underway to purchase.‘the beach itself, to avert the threat. of sand mining and
development. 5

Research. Aerial surveys to determine the distribution and abundance of
sea turtles in ‘the waters of the Virgin Islands are being made by the
Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs.


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23

Research. A program of tagging and related ecologic and physiologic
research has gone on at Tortuguero under the auspices of the University of
Florida since 1955. This has been supported by the Caribbean Conservation
Corporation, and formerly had additional support from the National Science
Foundation. During the period that the Tortuguero tagging program has been in
operation, the West Caribbean population of Chelonia has become the best known
sea turtle population in the world. Groundwork has been laid for accurate
demographic assessments, including calculation of the total mature population
from numbers of nesting females per season. Some difficulties involved in
these calculations are discussed separately herein.

Panama

Sources_of Information. Although Bocds del Toro was an early center of
exploitation of sea turtles, both Chelonia and Eretmochelys, published infor-
mation on the turtles of the Caribbean coast of Panama is limited. Within the

‘ past ten. years’ a report by Dario Tovar (1971), and another by Rigoberto
Paredes and Jose B. Sokol (1971) have provided some data, particularly on the
exploitation of the green turtle and hawksbill by the lpcal people. During
September 1978, Tom Carr visited the segment of coast just west of Colon and
gathered information through interviews. During July 1979, Anne Meylan con-
ducted. interviews, reconnoitered nesting and foraging habitat in Bocas del
Toro. Province (at Bocas, Bastimentos, and Zapatilla Cays) and made an aerial
survey of the coast from the northern frontier with Costa Rica to
Calovebora. ~Argelis Ruiz surveyed the coast between Calovebora and Punta Toro
from the air on August 26, 1979. A. Carr has carried out many interviews with
the Indians in the San Blas Islands, and on June 6, 1979 was presented with a
short report, .by Rafael Araujo, on the arrival and egglaying activity of
leatherbacks at Aglatome Bay (Acla), San Blas Islands, by the members of the
Biological Investigation Society of the University of Panama. In January and
February 1980, Tom Carr visited the Bocas del Toro area to investigate the
longshore sargassum-drift habitat and to conduct additional interviews with
the local turtlers. The regions east from Bocas del Toro to Colon, and east
of the -San Blas Islands to the Colombian border remain only sketchily sur-
veyed. The latter, especially, deserves careful attention.

Nesting Habitat. . Inj Bocas del Toro Province, there is fairly good nes-
ting beach all- along the mainland coast from the Costa Rican border. .to
Changuinola. Good beaches exist on. Isla- de Colon, Bastimentos, Zapatilla
Cays, aiid the Valiente Peninsula. Numerous extensive stretches of what appear
to be excellent nesting shore run eastward from Rio Canaveral to Calovébora.
Although the aerial surveys were not conducted during the peak nesting time of
any of the species, there was a pronounced concentration of tracks, presumably
those of hawksbills, on Chiriqui Beach, which extends. for about 18 miles
between Rio Cafaveral and Rfo Chiriqu{i. Besides Chiriquf Beach, hawksbills
are known to nest on the three Bastimentos beaches, on several small beaches
‘on Isla de Colon, on both of the Zapatilla Cays, and at Changuinola. The
hawksbill season in Panama is April through August, with the peak occurring in
May and June.

Dermochelys nests primarily on Bastimentos and Changuinola; and occasion~
ally on the two Zapatilla Cays. Single reports of nesting emergences on. Isla
de Caia Blanca (Waikin Cay) and on the coast just west of Santa Catalina were


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62

Because of the differing character and complexity of the sea turtle .habi-
tats of the surveyed regions, and the different logistic problems, _the present
report is necessarily inconsistent in its treatment of the various regions.
The material on the Leeward Islands and Panama is only partially presented.
Surveys in Panama have confirmed that it is an extremely important area in the
distribution and ecology of some or all stages of the life cycles of Caribbean
sea turtles. The last work there was completed only recently, and time has
not permitted a thorough analysis of the data. Accordingly, the. present
report presents only highlights in a body of information that will, in a later
‘Teport, show Panama to be, .along with the feeding ground of Chelonia in
Nicaragua and its nesting ground at Tortuguero, one of the three most
important sea turtle regions in the Caribbean.

. A schedule. of. the field work that was carried out between April -1980 and
July 1981 is presented in Table 1. As this report was being assembled, Chuck
Carr completed a survey of the Honduranean Miskitia. Results of that first
inspection of the beaches, of easternmost Honduras will be reported later.

Reg. ional Summaries

Nicarag ua

Much has been written about the green turtle colony of..the Miskito Cays
area of Nicaragua and the turtle industry there. Dr. Bernard Nietschmann of
the University, of California at Berkeley has published extensively on his
long-term studies of the people of the Miskitia, and their intimate relation-
ship with Chelonia. .Despite the attention the region has received, «however,
-little .is,. known about the status of turtles along the extensive shore of the
mainland. : : . ,

The original inhabitants of eastern coastal Nicaragua, the. Miskito
Indians, were ecologically closely adjusted to the large. populations of
Chelonia mydas that inhabit the.banks: and. reef-system habitats of. the, area.
For more than 100 years the region has been subjected to steady international
exploitation. The, most, active. exploiters were schooners. from .the Cayman
- Islands, the crews..of .which were well. aware that the Nicaraguan feeding ground
.Was. the most..populous in American waters, and that. the: green turtles: there
made regular migrations to. Tortuguero, Costa Rica, to.nest. :

3 At the World Conference, on Sea Turtle Conservation: held~in Washington,
D.C. in 1979, Reynaldo Arostegui, Chief, Department .of .Wildlife, Nicaraguan
Institute of Natural Resources and Environment, suggested that his government
might look with favor on.a project to create a sea turtle reserve..in the
, Miskito Cays, and. asked for support for such a.move... In October, ..1980,;. A.
Carr visited Nicaragua in company with Dr. Bernard Nietschmann, University of
California, Berkeley; Dr. Nancy. Foster, Office of Coastal Zone Management,
-NOAA; Drs A. F. Carr III, New York Zoological Society; and Nicaraguan offi-
‘cials, to make preliminary. plans for such a_ reserve. One reason the
Nicaraguans are interested in special protection for the Miskito Cays. area is
the growing numbers. of illegal foreign boats there,,and the increasing use of
dynamite. in poaching lobsters and fish from the reefs. The occasion presented
an. opportunity to make. aerial surveys along the coast from Punta Perlas,


Interim Report, August 1981.....
Introductionscccssese

Reg tonal Summaries.
Nicaragua...s

Costa Rica.

' albuquerque’ Cays (Southwest, Cays) o

. a Bank. sees
ueno Bank.
vd Roncador Cay.
Leeward Islands. Seees



42

In the Grenadines also, hawksbills are the predominant nesters, using
beaches on nearly all of the islands. In some areas, human exploitation has
measurably reduced their numbers, but the inaccessibility of some beaches
offers the possibility that concentrated nesting by this species still occurs
in the area. The nesting season is April through September. As on the main-
land, green turtles nest only rarely; a few reports of nesting at Palm Island
(also called Prune Island) seem credible. loggerheads nest occasionally.
Eggs from two nests were collected on Palm Island by the island’s owers, and
the hatchlings were raised in captivity. Nesting by the leatherback is very
rare; one definite record exists for Richmond Beach’ on Union Island.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Except off the southeast
coast, the shelf around St. Vincent is narrow and offers relatively little
foraging habitat for sea turtles. Hawksbills and green turtles of all sizes
are present the year around along the west coast, but not in substantial
numbers. Hawksbills are more numerous than green turtles. A few fishermen in
Chateaubelair, Rose Bank, Clare Valley and Questelles set turtle nets along
the coast. Loggerheads and leatherbacks are taken in deep waters. The latter
are harpooned by pilot whale fishermen from Barrouallie. February and March
are the months in which they most commonly appear. Small leatherbacks and
loggerheads are not know in the area.

In the St. Vincent Grenadines, green turtles are far more common than. on
the mainland, equalling or exceeding hawksbills in numbers. Their prevalence
can be attributed to the presence of extensive tracts of shallow water with
good forage. Both species are more abundant around the islands than on the
mainland. Subadult loggerheads, seldom less than 70-80 pounds in weight, are
also very common. Juveniles of this species are not know in the
Grenadines. lLeatherbacks are uncommon, although most fishermen say _they have
seen them at sea at one time or another. The shallow, reef-studded waters
undoubtedly pose problems for this species. One is know to have stranded on
a reef near Mustique. Union Islanders strongly associate the presence of this
species with periods of heavy flow of the Orinoco River. Small leatherbacks
are never seen.

Exploitation and Protection. At the time of the survey in 1978, regula-
tions called for a closed season from 1 May through 31 August.. Nests were

protected, and an export permit was required to take turtles out of the
country. A new law, to become effective January 1980, would prohibit the
capture of all species of marine turtles by all methods the year around. The
sale of turtles locally or abroad would be prohibited. Presumably, this law
is now in effect; its prospects for enforcement are unpredictable. —

Annual exports of up to 1,500 pounds of hawksbill shell’ from St. Vincent
to St. Lucia have been reported. A large proportion of that catch was said to
‘have originated from Becquia, where the species is now said to be badly deple-
ted. Prior to 1970, shell was also sold to Barbados and Japan. Exploitation
in 1978 appears quite heavy, especially in the islands. The large number of
tourists traveling through in sailing yachts provides a ready market for meat
and shell. The use of spear guns to capture small turtles for sale as
souvenirs is becoming increasingly popular. A-French "yachtel" ower on Union
buys all the turtles local fishermen care to sell, and then sells them in his
establishment or exports them to Martinique and France. In Kingston, few
turtle products were seen for sale.


40

At Case-Pilote on the west coast, a captive juvenile olive ridley was
seen and photographed. This had been caught locally. Surprisingly, local
residents did not recognize the ridley as distinct from the green turtle.

Exploitation and Protection. The level of exploitation of marine turtles
in Martinique is higher than that anywhere else in the Lesser Antilles. The
tourist trade in shell, stuffed turtles and jewelry is monumental. In Ft.-de-
France boxfuls of stuffed juvenile hawksbills were for sale in souvenir
markets. Meat and eggs of hawksbills, green turtles and leatherbacks are
consumed locally. Nesting turtles are taken on the beach whenever they. are
found. According to fisheries personnel at the fisheries institute in Robert,
there are at present no laws protecting turtles in Martinique. Fisheries
statistics show annual takes of 20-40 metric tons (all species, whole animal
weights) for 1959-1976. However, because turtle catches are not officially
monitored, these are only gross estimations of the total take. There are no
marine reserves offering protection to marine turtles. .

Research. None.

St. Lucia

Sources of Information. A summary of information gathered by Peter
Pritchard during a visit to St. Lucia is given by Cato, Prochaska ‘and
Pritchard (1978) in An Analysts of the Capture, Marketing, and Utilization of
Marine Turtles. Anne and Peter Meylan surveyed the island during the period
27-31 December 1978. Interviews were conducted at Gros Ilet, Castries,
Souffriere, Choiseul, Vieux Fort, Micoud, and Cas-en-bah (Anse Lavoutte).

Nesting Habitat. St. Lucia has numerous beaches that appear to be suit—
able nesting habitat. Some are small and situated in sheltered coves; others
are high energy beaches facing the open seae The most extensive of these are
distributed along the southeastern tip of the island, and at Grande Anse, Fond
d’Or, Anse Lavoute, Reduit (Gros Ilet), Vigie and Choc. The predominant
nesters on St. Lucia are hawksbills and leatherbacks. Hawksbills nest to some
extent on nearly all St. Lucia beaches. The season is April through
October. Specific sites on the west coast are Anse Becune, Pt. Saline, Pigeon
Island, Anse Cochon, Anse Jambon and Anse Mamin.’ On the eastern coast, nes-
ting occurs from the southernmost tip of the island to Burgot Point, at Anse
Ger, at the mouth of the Troumassee River, and at Praslin, Grande Anse and
Cas-en-bah (Anse Lavoutte). Leatherback nesting occurs mostly on the east
coast, on beaches from the southern tip of the island to Burgot Point, on the
Maria Islands, at the mouth of the Troumassee River, and at Fond Bay, Grande
Anse and Cas~en-bah. Heavy nesting at Grande Anse was reported, and the
species involved there is most probably the leatherback. Leatherbacks also
nest occasionally on the west coast, on Reduit Beach and Pigeon Island. The
leatherback season is March and April, although some nesting occurs during the
summer months. Loggerheads nest infrequently; localities include Pigeon
Island, Cas-en-bah and Pitton Sivons. Green turtles appear to nest’ very
rarely, if at all.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. The coastal shelf is broad and

relatively shallow around the northern and southern ends of the island. On
both coasts are numerous sheltered coves with seagrass becs. Both juvenile


65

female population. Causes of the fluctuation are not understood. It is not a
result of straying from the home nesting ground. The Tortuguero population is
better than 99% site-fixed on the 22 miles of the nesting shore. A part of
the fluctuation is produced by cycle modulation--by females on one nesting
schedule shifting to another. That such shifting occurs is amply proved by
the Tortuguero data. Concurrent shifts by females on different regimens
possibly could bring disproportionate numbers of turtles to the nesting beach
at the same time. This does occur, but its possible role in causing the
fluctuations has not been determined. :

.., hus an important feature of this body of data to the West Atlantic sur-
vey is the clear indication that aerial and other nest-track surveys, to have
value in population level calculations, must continue through several seasons.
This does not mean, of course, that single-flight surveys are not useful in
locating ‘heavy concentrations of nesting, or in identifying shores where none
at all occurs, in a given season. .

L Besides providing this data base, ancillary projects at Tortuguero dur ing
the past year have advanced understanding of the effects of incubation temper=
atures on sex in sea turtle eggs and on the ecology of post-hatchling sea
turtles in the "lost~year" habitat.

Another function of the Tortuguero program that is directly applicable to
the aims of the contract is that of receiving observers and trainees from
agencies of other west ‘Atlantic countries. At the present time a group of
five Nicaraguans from the Institute of Natural Resources and the Environment
has just finished a two-week stay at the camp, and visitors from other coun-
tries are expected as the season progresses. This new emphasis in -the
Tortuguero program should be helpful in the aim of the West Atlantic Turtle
Symposium committee to assist prospective participants in generating credit-
able reports for their respective countries. A special advantage to these
visitors is. the chance to make practice aerial survey flights under super-
vision, along a heavily tracked turtle beach for which optimal ground truth
is available. :

Results of a low-level aerial survey of the whole Costa Rican shore from
Nicaragua to Panama, in which A. Carr participated will be reported separately
by Larry Ogren. ©

Panama

In 1979, preliminary reconnaissance of nesting and foraging habitats in
- Bocas del Toro Province, Panama, revealed that the region is an extremely
important area for sea turtles. Four species nest on the beaches: there, and
three of these occupy the diverse foraging habitats that the area provides.
Because of its rich fauna, this province has since the early 19th century been
one of the main centers of commerce in turtles in Central America.

“'The initial aim of the field work was to locate important nesting sites.
In. 1979, an aerial survey was made o£ all beaches in the province, with the
exception of those within Chiriqui Lagoon. Results were presented in an
earlier report to National Marine Fisheries Service.

In May and June, 1980, A. Meylan flew selected beaches in the province
and carried out ground surveys at Floris Beach on Isla de Colon, at three
beaches on Bastimentos, at Zapatilla Cays, and at Playa Chiriqui (see Fig. 2


7.

8.

9.

“be | Is the’ Ipea!

10

Migratory routes.

ae At certain. times of. the. year do you see turtles pass by that
seem to be in traneit - heading for somewhere :else?
be If so, what kinds? What sizes? In groups? If so, in groups
_ ,of what size?
Ce Describe the location and ‘schedule of such sightings.
de Which way does the main current flow.in this area? Does it
seem to affect the movements of the turtles?

Exploitation . ol

ae Is turtle meat. sold locally?. Does the demand extend throughout
, the country or is it restricted to coastal people?
be What is the. price per pound? ms
Ce Is meat exported? :
d., How important, is turtle meat in the diet of, local people?
ee Are turtles other than green turtles eaten, or sold for food?
_. Which kinds? .
f.'° Are turtle eggs sent to market? te so, what is the order of
_preference, for eggs of the different.species?. Does the market
extend. throughout the. country or just along the coast?
Be Is there a market for turtle. skins? _What kinds of turtles are
. used? Who buys them, what prices are. paid?
he Is there a local market for tortoise shell? How much does the
shell sell for (per pound, per~ turtle)?
i. Are small turtles preserved or stuffed for sale to tourists?
_ Which kinds?. How much.do they sell for?

je Are. turtles caught with spear guns? By local people or by
tourists? :
How many people here. hunt turtles, as. their -main. source of

, income? Are” turtles taken, by other fishermen as well?

' How much’ subsistence turtling is. done by, People who use their
catch themselves?

ke

Turtle laws and regulations.

_. a+. , Are there laws and regulations controlling the exploitation of

turtles -here? (Obtain an. official copy..of. these).

] “sale, of turtles or turtle products restricted?

(If .so,, list. the restrictions, by Species, on .a separate
, Sheet.) . x

ce. .Is it legal to export turtle products? ,

4a. Is it legal, to. take female turtles off. the nesting “peach?

Ge Is. it Tegal ‘to, take turtle eggs? If so, are there quotas,

- Seasonal. restrictions or, other controls? 0s. es,

f. | Have regulations changed recently, now that international trade
in sea turtle products is being restricted?

ge Do you think these laws are necessary? What. changes would. you
recommend?

Inc dental catch. ‘

‘ ae Do trawlers. work in local waters? Are they around all year or..

just in certain seasons?
be Are sea turtles caught by the trawlers? How do you know this?


UNITED STATES

OCEAN

ATLANTIC

HAWKSBILL TURTLE
OccurRENCE IN ADULT
Foracine HABITAT

BA MEDIAL TO MAXIMAL.

CARtEB&B& BEAN

GULF OF MEXICO

NICARAGUA

<
4
w
>
N
w
z
uw

\S

“fe?

Figure 5.


“TT eznbta

VIr3IAZANBAA

2 pares)

CAASAMNS ATALVNOAGYNI f

AVLIGv}y ONTSVYO4
J 1ndy NI JONsuuNDI9

IX IW F S709
ATMIY Sd: 91K F 0

NYIFIO0 Q1Llnvi7wlye

S3lvis  O3LIND



12

has been for several decades, at least. Formerly large populations of
Chelonia and Lepidochelye have been drastically depleted. Which, and in what
numbers, genera other than Caretta nested on Florida beaches are not clear in
the older reports. . .

Nesting Habitat. The Florida nesting population of Caretta, apparently
second in size only to that of Masira Island in Oman, is being extensively
studied in tagging programs. Although some .of these are accumulating impor-
tant information, much of it remains unpublished. Extensive aerial nesting
censuses were recently made,:as a preliminary exercise of the present NMFS
West Atlantic Survey, by Peggy and David Carr; and, even more recently, tech-
niques of aerial counting were carefully reassessed by Larry Ogren and Tom
Carr. Enough data now probably exist to provide a reasonably accurate quan-
titative estimate of the breeding population 3 but this depends: on establishing
a numerical relation between numbers of counted tracks and numbers of nesting
females, and on relating the number of females that nest during a season to
the total number of sexually mature turtles in the population. In order to
determine this, reproductive periodicities will have “to be better know, and
degrees of philopatry and site-fixity more clearly determined.

Besides the huge breeding colony of Caretta, the east coast of Florida is
visited by a‘small number of nesting green turtles, perhaps averaging about 40
females per season, and an even smaller number of leatherbacks. Frank Lund
has recorded the nesting of one hawksbill in three different seasons at
Jupiter Island. . .

Adult and’ Developmental Foraging Habita + Mature and juvenile logger-
heads forage offshore along the entire coastline of Florida. Loggerheads and

ridleys apparently hibernate during winter in the artificial ‘ship channel off
Port Canaveral (Carr et al., ‘in press). Ridleys and green turtles probably
used to overwinter buried in mud along the: west coast of the peninsula.
Occasionally, adult green turtles ate encounteted in foraging habitats on the
east coast south of. Cape Canaveral. In the Dry Tortugas, three female green
turtles have been. recovered with tags put on at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Large
numbers of immature green turtles (12-115 lbs.) and immature ridleys (7-59
lbs.) used to be caught regularly in the Cedar Key -. Crystal River area of
Florida. Today immature and subadult green turtles and loggerheads occur in
Mosquito Lagoon. Norine Rouse occasionally sees hawksbill turtles while
diving off the Palm Beaches, and they occur- sparingly on reefs in the Florida
Keys. . . vee

Exploitation and Protection. ..Green turtles suffered heavy exploitation
in Florida ‘during the 19th century. Landing récords indicate that populations
had already dropped dramatically by the turn of the century. At present only
the loggerhead can be considered at all abundant. Today, it is illegal to
take or harass any sea turtle in Florida waters, and nests are protected by
law. Some poaching occurs,’ but on. most, sections. of the coast its effects
appear now to be minimal. More deleterious to the turtle populations are
alteration of nesting habitat by human development: of coastal areas, and
depredation on. turtle nests by raccoons. The incidental. take of sea turtles
in shrimp trawls-is also a serious problem in Florida. , ,

Research. ‘Turtle tagging programs are being . carried. out in--Florida by
Lew Ehrhart, Jom .Fletemeyer, Charles LeBuff, Frank Lund, Ross. Witham and



fable. of Contents

Interim. Report, April 1980
rIntroductLonesecsceseee
Procedure seccocevcecccvccvscsece
Nesting Ground Surveys.....
Interviews and Other Sourcés of Datasssccees
Suggestions for Conducting Interviews
Provisional, Questionnaire... weeee

Regional. Summaries
United Statesecrcrccsevvereveeseetieeseresesene
. FLOrAdascoseceecves
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.....
Mexicovessserveees
Tamaulipas
Veracruz ccccoee
Tabascoeseees
Campecheseseeee
Yucatanecesncecs
Quintana ROO..eeees
Belizecsssesee

soeeee

eb eceeenccccee

eee eeerecceees

vee

coveceel®
eeee eld

Panama...

Célombia. 25

Venezuelasseseresses +26
Tribidad ‘and’ Tobago. 226
Bahamas.seeseveses 227

“Caicos Islands:...

Jamaicaeserececveses

Dominican Republic

Halticcceccscccsecee

Puerto Rico, Mona, Culebra Island Group, dnd Vieques.

U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

Guadeloupe ss.sse

Dominicassseeee

Martinique..

St. Lucia...

St. Vincentesseses.

Grenada..... seeeseeee

Literature Cited. eae eeecesevoees
Figures 1-13 Distribution of écologic :and developmental stages

O of five species of west Atlantic sea turtles..47-60

+ 48-50

2051-53

eee cece ee eee 35

wee oo 36

eee eee eens eee s45

Figures 1-3 Green turtle...
Figures 4-6 Hawksbill..
Figures 7-9 Loggerheadssssecesseoes
Figures 10-12 Kemp’s ridleyssssscesscsece
Figure 13 Leatherback..

ee eee 60

See eeeevesceees


33

. No recent published information on the current status of sea turtle popu-
lations in the Dominican Republic is available. In early 1978 Dr. Robert E.
Woodruff informed us of the existence of a nesting colony of Dermochelys on
the northeastern coast of the island. The following August, Tom Carr visited
the island, surveyed that and other coasts, and interviewed promising infor-
mants along the coasts and in the capital.

Nesting Habitat. Beaches suitable for nesting occur along most of the
eastern portion of the island, with the exception of the eastern tip of Punta
Engano. Hawksbills nest, sparsely, on virtually all available beaches along
this shore. The only approach to group nesting is apparently made by
Dermochelys. Two informants gave the size of the East Coast nesting colony of
the leatherback as about 100 a year. Loggerheads nest occasionally on both
the northeast and southeast coasts, and green turtles, on the southern shore.

Adult_and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Coral reefs occur along the

entire northeast, and most of the southeast, shorelines. Seagrass beds occur
inside the reefs off most of the coast, and in the shallow areas of Punta
Engano. Green turtles and hawksbills of all sizes occur on feeding grounds
around the island, and a number of tags placed on turtles. while nesting at.
Tortuguero, Costa Rica or Aves Island, have been sent in from the Dominican
Republic. Mature. loggerheads, possibly in transit, aré.occasionally encoun-
tered in all the areas surveyed. Leatherbacks appear during the nesting
season only. Migrating ridleys were reported by a reliable informant to occur
with some regularity in the channel between Isla Saona off the southeastern
tip of the Dominican Republic, and the mainland. These are doubtless current-
borne examples of L. olivacea.

Exploitation and Protection. When nesting turtles are encountered, they
are regularly killed and their eggs are taken. Hawksbills are actively hunted
for their shells, and are frequently taken by divers with spearguns. Tortoise-
shell products were for sale in the Dominican Republic. Stuffed green turtles
and loggerheads, ranging from. dinner-plate-size to adult sizes, were also
available in the shops. The overall consensus of knowledgeable people inter—
viewed was that there are far fewer turtles now than in the past.

Research. During his visit to the Dominican Republic in August 1978, Tom
Carr learned that scientists at the museum in Santo Domingo were interested
in initiating a research program to study the island’s sea turtles. We have
received word that this program is now being developed, and we will be colla-
borating in the tagging project there.

Haiti

Sources of Information. Except for Cuba, and most of the Bahamas,. Haiti
represents the biggest gap in our survey to date. Marine turtles once abounded
in Haitian waters, but this is no longer the case, and no recent literature
exists on turtles in Haiti. The only information available was gathered by
Anne and Peter. Meylan when in transit to the Windward Islands; and by Diderot
Gicca, incidentally to other work.


75

Table 1. Schedule of field work, April 1980 through July 1981

Date

3 March 1980
6-9 April ‘1980

9-12 April’ 1980
12-14 April 1980 |
14-16 April 1980
16-17 April 1980

17-20 April 1980

20-22 April 1980
22-24 April 1980

15 May - 11 June 1980
4-12 June 1980

24 August 1980

28 Aug. - 5 Sept. 1980

5-8 Sept. 1980

8-11 Sept. 1980
17-19 Sept. 1980

21-30 Nov. 1980

22-26 Jan. 1981

26-28 Jan. 1981

Locality

Costa Rica
St. Maarten, Leeward Is.

Anguilla, Leeward Is.

St. Barthelemy, Leeward Is.
Saba, Leeward Is.

St. Eustatius, Leeward Is.

St. Kitts, Nevis, Leeward Is.

Antigua, Leeward Is.
Barbuda, Leeward Is.
Panama, Bocas del Toro
Colombia (San Andrés,
Providencia)

Panama, Bocas del Toro

Montserrat, Leeward Is.

Antigua, Leeward Is.

Barbuda, Leeward Is.

Nicaragua (Miskito Cays and
mainland coast)

Venezuela (Los Roques)

Montserrat, Leeward Is.

Barbuda, Leeward Is.

Purpose

aerial survey of entire
Costa Rican. coast

beach surveys; boat’ survey;
interviews a

beach surveys; interviews
beach surveys 3 interviews
beach surveys; “interviews”
beach surveys; interviews

beach surveys; boat survey;
interviews

beach surveys; interviews
beach surveys; interviews

aerial surveys; beach surveys;
boat surveys; interviews

aerial flyover; beach surveys;
boat survey; interviews

aerial survey

beach surveys; diving;
‘attend CCA*Meeting

beach surveys; interviews

beach surveys; diving;
interviews

aerial flyovers; boat surveys;
interviews

aerial flyover; beach surveys;
boat surveys; diving;
interviews

mtg. with WATS*delegate; beach
surveys; boat survey; diving;
interviews

beach surveys; boat survey;
interviews


21

Research. At present no research on the sea turtles of Honduras is being
carried out.

Nicaragua

Sources of Information. Background information on sea turtle. populations
in Nicaragua comes from several sources. Most of the tag returns from the
Tortuguero green turtle tagging program have been from the Miskito Cays region
of Nicaragua. In 1972, Bernard Nietschmann tagged hawksbills on the east
coast of Nicaragua. Over a two-month period in 1975-76 Jeanne Mortimer lived
in each of the coastal Miskito Indian villages between Bluefields and Little
Sandy Bay while gathering data on the feeding habits of green turtles. In
August 1977 Karen Bjorndal, and in September 1978 Archie Carr, Anne Meylan and
Karen Bjorndal, visited the Miskito Cays on’ the Research Vessel Alpha Helix
and had good opportunities. to interview Miskito Indian turtle fishermen and
others at.Bluefields, Corn Island, Miskito Cay, and the region: around Morrison
Dennis Cays. Nevertheless, important gaps remain in what is known of the
status of the sea turtles of the region. No recent information exists on the
région from Bluefields south to San Juan del Sur, or about the mainland coast
north of Cape Gracias “a Dios and the islands and cays far off. the coast of
Nicaragua (@-g+ Albuquerque Cays, San Andrés, Old Providence Island, Roncador
Cay, ete.). These regions will be included in future survey work.

Nesting Habitat. Nesting by hawksbills is sparse and by loggerheads
infrequent, along most of the eastern Nicaraguan mainland, and on many of the
offshore cays. Bernard Nietschmann- found fairly important hawksbill beaches
at Kings Cay, Asking Cay and Set Net .Cays, and at Cocal -in southern
Nicaragua. No nesting by green turtles was reported in any of these areas.
Future survey work to determine the extent. of leatherback: nesting, which
occurs sparingly along the open shore of the mainland, will be undertaken in
1980. . 5

bk

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. © Excellent green: turtle for-
aging habitat occurs along most of the coast and offshore. cays. This may be

the most extensive pasture ground for Chetonia anywhere in the world. - This is
illustrated by tag returns from:-female green turtles that had been tagged
while nesting at Tortuguero, Costa- Rica. From the Miskito Cays. area of
Miskito Bank, 725 tags have been recovered. An additional 142 tags-have come
from the Sandy Bay Cays, and 263 have been returned from localities along the
mainland Nicaraguan coast. Recovery of. two tags that had been put on turtles
at Aves Island is the first evidence .that Miskito Bank may be.a feeding habi-
tat for two different major breeding populations. Very good habitat for
mature and juvenile hawksbills also occurs in these same regions, and ‘probably
also on Greytown Bank off southern Nicaragua. ‘The possible occurrence of
loggerhead turtles in this area needs further investigation. Most. loggerheads
that are-seen are immature, but their habitat distribution is not known.

Exploitation and Protection. At one time three slaughterhouses operated
on the eastern coast of Nicaragua; and among them, they ‘were responsible for
killing an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 green turtles each year from 1969 to
1975. These enterprises were closed in 1976, and only the hunting of turtles
for local use and sale has continued. Hawksbills are hunted constantly for
their shells, and their eggs are taken wheneyer they are found. .

‘


NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFC-91

Technical Memorandums are used for documentation
and timely communication of preliminary results,
interim reports, or special-purpose information,
and have not received complete formal review,
editorial control, or detailed editing.

SURVEYS OF SEA TURTLE POPULATIONS AND

HABITATS IN THE WESTERN ATLANTIC

Archie Carr, Anne Meylan, Jeanne Mortimer,
Karen Bjorndal, and Thomas Carr

March 1982

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

John V. Byrne, Administrator

National Marine Fisheries Service

William G. Gordon, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries



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45

Litérature Cited

Bacon, P. Re
1975. Review of research, exploitation and management of the stocks of
sea turtles in the Caribbean region. FAO Fisheries Circular, no.
334, 19pp.

Carr, Ae Fe
1956. The Windward Road. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 258 pp.

Carr, Ae, Me He Carr, and A. B. Meylan
1978. The ecology and migrations of sea turtles, 7. The West Caribbean
green turtle colony. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 162, art.
1, 46 pp.

Carr, Ae, Le Ogren, and C. McVea.
[In press] Apparent hibernation by the Atlantic loggerhead turtle
Caretta caretta off Cape Canaveral, Florida. Biol. Conserv.
Vol. 19 (1980-81):7-14.

Carr, D., and P. He Carr
1977. Survey and reconnaissance of nesting shores and coastal habitats
of marine turtles in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U. S. Virgin
Islands. Report to National Marine Fisheries Service, mimeo, 52
PPe

Carr, Te
1974. The marine turtles of Culebra Island. Report to Dept. of Natural
Resources, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, xeroxed, 12 pp.

Carr, T.
1977. The marine turtles and terrestrial reptiles of Culebra Island.
Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, xeroxed, 43 pp.

Carr, T.
1978. A survey of marine turtles at Vieques Island. Report to Dept. of
Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, xeroxed, 16 pp.

Cato, Je Ce, Fe Je Prochaska, and P. C. He Pritchard
1978. An.analysis of the capture, marketing, and utilization of marine
turtles. Report to National Marine Fisheries Service (purchase
order no. 01-7-042-11283), 119 pp.

Hildebrand, H.
[In press] A historical review of the status of sea turtle populations
in the western Gulf of Mexico. In: Biology and Conservation of
Sea Turtles, K. As Bjorndal, ed. Smithsonian Institution Press,
Washington, D.C.

Kaufmann, R.
1975. Studies of the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, in
Colombia, South America. Herpetologica 31(3): 323-326.


29

shell. From 1966 to 1969 (the last years for which figures are available)
$65,000 worth of tortoiseshell was landed in Nassau from throughout the
Bahamas. In the northern islands nesting by loggerheads is said to have
diminished more drastically than that by either green turtles or hawksbills.
At Inagua, turtles are taken mostly in nets; about 30 were caught annually
from 1970 and 1976. Most turtles taken range in weight from 30-80 pounds. It
is illegal to take female turtles on the beach. The eggs of all the species
are protected, and no turtle smaller than ten inches in carapace length can be
taken. Numbers of nesting turtles have greatly decreased during the past 50
years.

Turtle landings in Nassau by month, in pounds of marketable weight, were
as follows:

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

_ 1974 G 817 124 702 85 240 60 2,000 932 742 497 112 20
H 1,450 2,661 4,610 _. 0 741 60 120 3,752 5,961 880 830 935

L 9,400 13,710 14,695 0 0 0 4,500 3,930 860 150 2,250 5,800

1975 G 675 479 881 80 2,725 1,842 350 728 209 649 645 0
H 1,856 1,364 4,744 36 1,705 2,690 220 4,940 1,139 3,647 1,333 4,520

L_ 5,300 0 3,535 9 0 0 2,550 5,805 880 2,050 5,235 0

1976. G 110 156 3,834 1,017 2,374 60 0 332 700 136 875 547
H 1,051 2,755 5,513 680 1,450 550 0 4,738 5,419 4,882 3,152 1,310

L 1,045 280 12,760 t) 0 87 2,450 582 1,850 125 2,507 1,310

1977 G 600 342 889 0 350 3,426 305 328 628 2,236 390 110
H 2,830 4,050 8,805 734 1,434 170 50 4,732 8,236 0 2,463 2,458

L 1,248 2,500 3,130 200 0 0 2,200 5,621 2,670 1,434 3,138 4,700

In the list below, turtle landings in Nassau in 1976 and 1977, from the
islands indicated, are tabulated. Figures are in pounds of gutted weight.

Green Turtle Hawksbill Loggerhead

Abaco
1976 253 1,458 none
1977 80 670 200
Acklins
1976 416 100 none
1977 402 none 634
Andros
1976 . 2,479 5,667 8,755
1977 2,584 8,537 15,579

Berry Islands
1976 834 1,495 2,637
1977 310 400 410


38

are Rockaway Beach at Canefields, Mero, Pointe Ronde, Portsmouth, Douglas Bay
Beach, and Toucarie On the northern coast from Anse du Mer to Woodford Hill
there are several small covehead beaches. Only a short section of the eastern
coast was reconnoitered, but topographic maps show beaches south of Walker’s
Rest, at Pagua Bay to the south of Castle Bruce, At Rosalie, and north of La
Pleine (at Bout Sable). On the south coast, the only beach shown on the
topographic map is located at Berekua. However, one informant reported nes-
ting on a beach at Stowe.

Hawksbills and green turtles are the most frequent nesters on Dominica;
the best nesting beaches for both are those in the Portsmouth area (Pte. Ronde
to Toucari), Hampstead Beach, Castle Bruce, and Bout Sable. The nesting
season of the hawksbill is May through October; for. the green turtle the
season apparently begins a little later. Leatherbacks nest in May and June at
Bout Sable, Lambawan, and Stowe. No nesting by loggerheads was reported.
Much of the coast of Dominica is inaccessible by land, and other undiscovered
nesting beaches may occur around the island.

Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. The coastal shelf around most
of Dominica is-narrow, and sheltered coves are few. In spite of this, a fair
number of green turtles and hawksbills of all sizes are year around resi-
dents. Turtle fishermen from Scott’s Head set their nets along the windward
coast, between Delices and Castle Bruce, and nets are also set along the north
coast at Calibishie, and on the west coast at Toucari. These aréas presumably
provide foraging habitat for both adult hawksbills and green turtles.
Juveniles of both are common in all areas. They are caught by divers at
Portsmouth and Loubiere, and are sold to tourists. The occurrence of numerous
young in a region in which the usual developmental habitats ofthe two species
appear to be very limited is a puzzle that invites careful further investiga-—
tion. Leatherbacks are relatively uncommon; but are occasionally seen in the
Martinique and Guadeloupe channels. No small ones are known. Loggerheads
ogcur even more rarely. They, too, are know best by people who fish in the
deep channels between’ the islands. ~The loggerhead is frequently called
“channel turtle." A fisherman at Calibishie reported catching a loggerhead 15
inches in carapace length. Except for this record, juveniles’ of the species
are unknown.

Exploitation and Protection. A regulation passed in June 1976 protects
all turtles between 1 June and 30 September. There is a. minimum size limit. of

20. 1bs. All nesting turtles and their eggs are protected. Because of a
shortage of enforcement officers, these rules apparently are not enforced; but
coastal people are aware that they exist. The meat and eggs of green turtles,
hawksbills and leatherbacks are consumed locally. Meat sells for 2$ E.C. per
pound. French buyers. travel around the countryside, visiting even the most
remote areas, to buy hawksbill shell for export to the French Antilles. The
price paid is 12-25$ E.C. per pound. A National Park System is developing
rapidly in Dominica. Although the principal concern is for forest” lands and
fauna, Douglas’ Bay, north of Portsmouth, is being considered as a site of a
National Park. No definite plans have been made yet to include the nesting
beach there, but this clearly ought to be done.

‘Research. None.



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Figure 6. Playa Pito, where a new leatherback colony was: discovered

in ‘April, 1981.


24

heard. The nesting season is February through June. Green turtles occasion-
ally nest'on Changuinola, Bastimentos and Chiriqui Beach, the best of the
three being Changuinola. The.nesting season of Chelonia is. during the summer
months. Loggerheads nest only rarely; nesting in July on Bastimentos : was
reported to T. Carre .

In the San Blas Islands there are many isolated nesting beaches. -In
general, the hawksbill is the species that emerges most often’ to nest. Nes—
ting also occurs on the adjacent mainland, where leatherbacks .and’ green
turtles come up fairly regularly. Loggerheads are only rarely seen on :shore.

. Adult and Developmental Foraging Habitat. Extensive lagoon and offshore
habitats are found: around Bocas that appear. to be highly favorable feeding
grounds for both juvenile and adult turtles. These. remain . largely
unsurveyed. Reefs and grass beds exist around Bastimentos, Isla de Colon, and
the Zapatilla Cays. Hawksbills reside on banks off Isla de. Colon .and
Bastimentos. Other banks farther offshore are also known to be occupied or
visited by turtles, presumably Eretmochelys and Chelonia. Although much less
numerous than in the past, a. considerable number of hawksbills of all sizes
occurs in the region. Mature hawksbills reportedly migrate to Chiriqui Beach
from other.areas to nest. ‘Bocas is an important temporary feeding station for
migrating green turtles. Thirty-two tags put on at. Tortuguero. have been
recovered theres The. turtles are usually caught in. nets as they come in to
feed on seagrass on. the leeward side of the outer cays of the lagoon.. A small
number of adult green turtles are resident; these are reported to’ feed on
mangroves in the lagoons. Immature green turtles also occur, .but -in:.smaller
numbers. Adult loggerheads are rare, but subadults are reported to be' common
in both Chiriquf and Almirante lagoons.. Leatherbacks are present only during
the nesting seasons Ridleys have not been positively identified in the
‘region. . . : } -

In the San Blas Islands there is an abundance of reef. habitats, | tracts of
seagrass and beds of algae. Hawksbiils of all sizes are -found with relative
vfrequency. Green. turtles also. occur in all sizes, but most.of them.are
juveniles. An occasional young leatherback is observed; the adults are pre-
sent only during the nesting. season. Loggerheads of all age groups are pre-
sent, with adults being. the most frequently encountered. Hatchling green
turtles, presumably from-Tortuguero, have been. found off ‘the coast of Panama
in offshore sargassum drift-lines.

.Exploitation and Protection. Human exploitation of, sea turtles:.is ‘heavy
in Panama. The eggs are taken regularly, and nesting females are often
killed. Nets are set offshore, and turtles are speared with: harpoons, espe-
cially in the San Blas Islands. ‘The meat of. both green turtles ‘and: hawksbills
is. eaten by coastal residents, although that of the . former. .is.-.much
preferred. “Deereto Ejecutivo No. 104, Settembre 1974,- prohibits. the: capture
of green turtles, loggerheads. and olive ridleys in territorial.waters. from 1
May to 30 September. It is also illegal to collect or sell the eggs or hatch-
lings of any species of sea turtle.

.-~-Research.---Anne.-Meylan...is conducting. a study of the “feeding ecology. “of
the hawksbill in Bocas del Toro Province. No other research on marine turtles
in Caribbean Panama is underway. :


WORTH CAV,
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AND-ASSOCIATED CAYS AND ATOLLS

Figure 7.. Islands and atolls of the San Andrés Archipelago, in the western
Caribbean off Nicaragua.


starting. Visit the sites of these if you can} “inquire about d
niques, and try to form an opinion’ of the quality and effectiveness of each.
> Learn what results the operators believe they have ‘seen,‘or are’ forecasting.
Ig they tell you they také eggs from the oviducts of slaughtered turtles,
incubate them, and release hatchlings or pen-reared young, ask if this seems
to be doing any good. If the reply is, "sure--the population is increasing
now that we do this," ask how that ‘is known; and so on. A valuable part of
this’ survey will: be an accurate inventory and appraisal of managemént and
conservation procedures in the west. Atlantic, and of the gaps in that field
that will surely be revealed. |

12.. Research. Make a careful assessment of esearch” projects in pro-
gress’ in ‘the localities visited. Many people confuse Management and résearch;
so in your questioning try to keep the two apart. Killing coatis or dogs ona
nesting beach is man agement ; its aim is to increase hatchling . production.
Tagging ‘turtles is esearch, because its basic aim is to increase knowledge.
Those ‘are easy to separate. Head starting is more troublesome. In one
form or’ another it is being done widely, and in nearly every case the justifi-
cation claimed is that it'circumvents predation and thus increases’ the popula-
tion. This could be true; but there is not any proof that head starting has
ever increased a population ‘anywhere. “On the other hand, as an experimental
effort to learn something of the developmental ecology of sea turtles, head
starting has promise. Don’ t preach to anybody about this, but sort out the
differences in ‘your own’ mind, ‘and° do. everything ‘you can to. “b¥ing back an
assessment, of local efforts to genérate original data on’ sea turtle biology.

Provisional ques tionnaire

To help systematize the interviews, and insure coverage of pertinent
topics, ‘the following set ‘of questions ‘was provided for field personnel.
Obviously, the questioner did. not stick slavishly . to this protocol, but
instead’ gave ‘special “émphasis to “whatever lines of _ inquiry, each informant
seemed best qualified to discuss.

1. Data on the informant.

a. Name -
De Address

Ce Sex | 2

d. Age “"

le Occupation’

‘2. Spécies of 'séa turtles that occur in the area. i

a. How many kinds of turtles are know -hete?* Déscribe: thems
be What. local name is used for each of them? -

(ce “How do the various kinds rank in abundance? » CBxe :

' '” green>hawksbills>...) .

3. Seasonality and ecology of foraging adults.

a. Do fully ‘grow turtles occur here? Which kinds?

b. Which kinds’ live in local waters all year around?

c. What are the seasons when the others are here? 7 :

d. If turtles ‘are seasonal here, do you have any. idea whére they
come from?


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Date
28 Jan. 1981

29 Jan. ~.2 Feb.

22-30 April 1981

25 May - 19 June

31 July - 1 Aug.

1981

1981

1981

76

Table_1 (continued

Locality

Antigua, Leeward Is.

Anguilla, Leeward Is.

Panama

Panama (Bocas -del Toro)

Honduras (Miskitia)

* CCA = Caribbean Conservation Association
WATS = Western Atlantic Turtle Symposium

Purpose

mtg. with WATS delegate

mtg. with WATS delegate;
beach surveys; boat surveys;
diving; interviews

aerial survey entire
Caribbean coast; weedline
search; ‘mtg. with WATS
delegate; beach surveys;
boat surveys; interviews

beach surveys; diving; boat
surveys; interviews

aerial survey; interviews


46

Kermarrec, Ae
1976. Le statut des tortues dans les Antilles Francaises. Nouv. Agron.
Antilles-Guyane, 2, 2, 99-108.

Ogren, Le. He
1977. Survey and reconnaissance of sea turtles in the northern Gulf of
Mexico. National Marine Fisheries Service, Panama City, Florida,
mimeo, 8 pp.

Paredes, Re, and J. B. Sokol
1971. Informe de las comumidades de Limon de Donoso, Coclé del Norte y
Miguel de la Borda. Report to Depto. de Planificacién, Panama,
mimeo, 17 pp., 16 fig.

Rebel, T. P. :
1974. Sea turtles and the turtle industry of the. West Indies, Florida,
and the Gulf of Mexico. University of Miami Press, Coral Gables,

Florida, 250 pp.

Thurston, J., and T. A. Wiewandt
- 1976. Management of sea turtles at Mona Island. Unpubl.. report to
Puerto Rico, Dept. of Nat. Res.

Tovar, D.
1971. La situacién de las tortugas marinas en la costa Atlantica de
Panama. Report to Parques Nacionales y Vida Silvestre, Recursos
Naturales Renovables, mimeo, 10 pp.


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11

Co Has this accidental capture of turtles inéreased lately?
ds -Which kinds “of turtles. are’ taken incidentally,’ what sizes, and
with what'relative: frequency?
eualt +, @e > Are the turtles usdally -drowmed ‘in the net of do they survive?
f. Are turtles that are taken ‘by trawlers eaten by the fishermen,
sold,” or- released? .
Be What ‘is "the ‘deepest water! you ever” knew of a “turtle being taken

in?

Ce Are nest ptedators destroyed? : .
des: Are’ eggs moved to new sites, or sociated i \artificial con=
e  “tainers? ° °
Are tlhe young turtles released | _Amme:
Where areTM ‘they released?
Are’ young’ turtles ‘kept’ in “tanks or” crawls for later release?
I£'s0,'at'what ages and sizes: are they: released?’
wee “\ ga + Douthe above practices 's' to be doing y good? If so, what
is the evidence of this?” . :

12. Research.

ae Have - you ever ‘seén or heard ‘of ‘a’turtlé’ Bearing a tag? When,

where?
1s 88 Bebe Are any: “tagging. projects. in opération * ioe ts
species are rel tiré

- If’ so, what

partly on 1 field “york: carr iad ut! dur ti
literatura. Assessments’ ‘6! the’ rebatt a
breeding, feeding aid-developmental habitats. até made“in Figui es 1-13... It: is
important to note that the. dens ity. gradients are based. on absolute numbers
that differ widely from spécies — ‘to’ ‘spécies. ° For. examplé, ‘maximal nesting
density ‘for Loggerheads’ ‘is’ “in ‘tio way comparable’ to’ that for hawksbilis. The
accounts ard’ .maps’ show only - ‘
survey. St]

Florida)

Sources of. Information. " Although a. number of projects are producing new
data, many important questions of ecologic geography ‘and.'demography ‘of turtles
that occur. in Florida waters remain unanswered. Although all five genera
occuriin the state,. the loggerhead is by far’ the most prevalent species, and