Conserving Marine Turtles on a Global Scale

Conserving Marine Turtles on a Global Scale

20042nd Edition

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This publication attempts to describe the global scope of WWF’s marine turtle work as fully as possible.There may be individual projects which have not been included, due to information gathering restraints, in this first publication.Any omissions or errors are entirely unintentional.

WWF’s mission is the conservation of nature. Using the best available scientific knowledge and advancing that knowledge where we can, wework to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth and thehealth of ecological systems by

• protecting natural areas and wild populations of plants and animals, including endangered species;

• promoting sustainable approaches to the use of renewable natural resources; and

• promoting more efficient use of resources and energy and the maximum reduction of pollution.

We are committed to reversing the degradation of our planet’s natural environment and to building a future in which human needs are met in harmony with nature.We recognize the critical relevance of human numbers, poverty, and consumption patterns to meeting these goals.

Acknowledgements:This publication was prepared by Liz McLellan with the collaboration ofKim Davis,Amanda Nickson, Carlos Drews, Sarah Humphrey, and many others in the WWF Network, and was supported by the WWF US MarineConservation Program.

For more information:

WWF International Species Programme+44-1483-412567 [email protected]

2nd Edition, March 2004© 2004 WWF. All rights reserved by World Wildlife Fund, Inc.

Printed onrecycled paper

WWF InternationalAve. du Mont BlancCH-1196 GlandSwitzerland

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CONSERVING MARINE TURTLES ON A GLOBAL SCALE 2004

WWF’s vision forthe future is that ...

Marine turtles worldwide are

protected and restored to

healthy levels reflecting their

intrinsic values, role in

ecosystem functioning and

benefits to people.

Over the next 10 years, the goal of WWF’sglobal efforts is….. the reduction of threats to marine turtles from the loss and degradation oftheir critical habitats, from the impacts of unsustainable use, and from incidentalcapture (by-catch).

Objectives Objective 1

Reducing the loss and degradation of critical marine turtle habitats.

Objective 2

Reducing unsustainable use and illegal trade in marine turtles and turtle products.

Objective 3

Reducing the negative impact of by-catch on marine turtles. W

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Conserving Marine Turtles on aGlobal Scale

1. INTRODUCTIONSince its foundation in 1961,WWF has supportednumerous marine turtle conservation effortsworldwide. Much of the early work involved mapping the distribution of nesting beaches,with surveys in more than 40 countries. Otherprojects focused on survival of eggs and hatchlings, establishment of protected areas,research into marine turtle biology, ecology and behaviour, monitoring the trade in turtleproducts, investigating the threats from fisheries,and sponsoring international conferences andworkshops on marine turtle conservation.WWFassisted in the creation of what was to becomethe IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group, andsupported the first World Conference on theConservation of Marine Turtles in 1979. Becauseof the great mobility of these animals, marine turtles are vulnerable throughout their ranges to a myriad of threats, including intentional hunting/trapping and incidental capture in fishing gear.WWF continues to support nationalefforts to conserve marine turtles, and is alsoincreasingly focusing on regional approaches toconservation in the Mediterranean, Indo-Pacific,eastern Pacific and Caribbean, and Africa andMadagascar.

WWF’s Global Framework for Marine TurtleConservation relies on regional approaches tooperationalise its work, and to magnify the effortson the ground through regional and internationalinterventions and opportunities.WWF has completed action plans for its work in the AsiaPacific Region,Africa and Madagascar, and LatinAmerica and the Caribbean, and is working atmany sites in those regions. WWF also works atsites through the Mediterranean. In total,WWFhas active projects or supports local partners inmarine turtle conservation in over 40 countries.

Large and diverse human-related impacts have undermined the ability of many turtle populations to maintain viable population sizes.Under natural conditions, turtles suffer highhatchling and juvenile mortality, but those thatsurvive grow into long-lived adults with littleadult mortality. Unfortunately, conditions now are anything but “natural”, with a wide range of

human interferences, and turtles suffer extensivemortality at all ages, leading to increasingly regular population crashes. Six of the seven recognized marine turtle species are consideredby IUCN–The World Conservation Union– to beendangered, three of those critically endangered.The main threats to turtles on beaches are eggcollection, turtle collection (for shells and meat),development (lighting, armoring, catchments disturbance), egg predation by native andintroduced animals, as well as destruction of

nesting habitat.The main threats to turtles in the water are collection (for shells and meat),fisheries bycatch (coastal gill nets, long lines and other gear), ghost nets, disease and degradation of foraging habitats.

A number of issues contribute to the complexity of marine turtle conservation:

• Life-cycle characteristics that make marine turtlesparticularly vulnerable to habitat degradation andoverexploitation

• Extraordinary migratory habits, the conservationof which requires concerted action by manynations, sometimes across ocean basins

• Limited resources and capacity, and sometimespolitical will, to manage turtle populations

• Lack of comprehensive data on life histories andthreats upon which to base management andconservation decisions

• Lack of information amongst communities anddecision-makers about marine turtle biology,conservation status and management needs

• Lack of appreciation of the current and potentialvalue of marine turtles for coastal communitiesand ecosystems

• Lack of regional, national and local coordinationamongst stakeholders

• Inadequate legal instruments and enforcement

• Increasing coastal population growth, povertyand resource use conflicts

• Climate change.


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In order to address these threats and issues, andachieve its three global objectives for marine turtle conservation, WWF works around the world through such actions as:

• Reducing over-exploitation of turtles for meat, parts, eggs, andshells and promoting non-consumptive alternatives

• Working with fisher folk, scientists , governments and international organizations to reduce incidental catch in fisheries

• Establishing and strengthening protected areas around nestingbeaches and critical marine habitats

• Involving local communities in monitoring, protecting and managing turtles and their nests

• Promoting implementation of regional and international agreements to conserve marine turtles

• Increasing the scientific understanding of turtle population trends, migration, genetics and value.

Marine turtle species IUCN Red List (2003) A CITES listing B CMS listing C

Leatherback turtle(Dermochelys coriacea)

Hawksbill turtle(Eretmochelys imbricata)

Kemp’s ridley turtle(Lepidochelys kempii)

Loggerhead turtle(Caretta caretta)

Olive ridley turtle(Lepidochelys olivacea)

Green turtle(Chelonia mydas)

Flatback turtle(Natator depressus)

A) IUCN 2003. 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.redlist.org

B) The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora www.cites.org

C) The Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals www.unep-wcmc.org/cms

Conservation Status of Marine Turtles

Critically Endangered Appendix I Appendix 1 & 2



Endangered Appendix I Appendix 1 & 2



Data Deficient Appendix I Appendix 2


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Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)The leatherback turtle is the largest marine turtleand one of the largest living reptiles, growing to180 cm and weighing up to 500 kg. Leatherbacksare the most migratory of all marine turtlespecies, making both trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific crossings. Recent estimates ofleatherback numbers show that this species is in severe decline throughout its range. Currentscientific thinking is that populations of D. coriacea in the Indian and Pacific Oceans cannot tolerate even moderate levels of adultmortality, and are now facing imminent extinction. Pacific leatherback turtles are the most endangered populations of turtles worldwide, with less than an estimated 3,000nesting females remaining. In the 1980s, therewere 90,000 leatherbacks in the eastern Pacificalone. Global extinction is considered to be only a matter of time unless adult mortality can bereduced and survival of eggs and hatchlingsincreased.

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata)The hawksbill turtle is a medium-sized cheloniid,usually less than 1m in length and weighing 40-60kg. Nesting occurs widely throughout therange, but tends to be more dispersed than inother species.The significance of isolated breeding colonies is that a depleted populationwill not be replenished by immigration from elsewhere. Extirpation of a population will resultin irreversible loss of genetic diversity.As withother species, E. imbricata is threatened by theloss of nesting and feeding habitats, excessiveegg-collection, fishery-related mortality, pollution,and coastal development. Despite their currentprotection under the Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna andFlora (CITES), as well as under many nationallaws, there is still a disturbingly large amount ofillegal trade in E. imbricata shells and products.This, compounded by intensive historical over-harvesting for shells, probably constitutes themajor threat to the species.

Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii)Kemp’s ridley turtles are relatively small marineturtles, reaching around 70 cm. Nesting of thisspecies occurs conspicuously in broad daylight,and apart from sporadic nesting elsewhere, takes

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place only on one 20 km beach at Rancho Nuevoin Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico. In the past, tensof thousands of females nested simultaneously atthe beach, a true arribada (mass nesting event).Nowadays arrivals are numbered in the hundreds.There was massive exploitation of eggs until thisspecies received protection in 1965.The nestingpopulation crashed from more than 40,000 turtles coming ashore in a single day in the late1940s to a few hundred females nesting in anentire season in the late 1980s.As a result of anenormous conservation effort to protect all nestsproduced at Rancho Nuevo and the required useof Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) to reduce capture in fishing nets, the species is undergoinga remarkable recovery, although nesting numbersare still low.

Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta)Loggerheads are among the largest cheloniid turtles, sometimes measuring over a meter inlength and weighing up to 180 kg, with characteristically large heads and strong jaws.Loggerheads are widely distributed in coastalwaters, mainly in subtropical and temperateregions and travel large distances following majorwarm currents such as the Gulf Stream andCalifornia Current.As with leatherbacks,loggerheads are highly migratory, making some of the longest journeys known of all marine turtlespecies. Nesting beaches are distributed in moretemperate latitudes than those of other marineturtles. Loggerheads are less likely to be hunteddeliberately than other marine turtles: their meatis considered less desirable than that of the greenturtle, and the shell is less prized than that of the hawksbill. However there is some directexploitation in Cuba, and loggerheads’ eggs are

collected and eaten in many parts of the world.The main cause of mortality is believed to bethrough fisheries by-catch.

Olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea)The olive ridley looks very similar to the Kemp’sridley, but has a deeper body and slightly up-turned edges to its carapace. Olive ridleysgrow to an average length of 70cm, and adultsweigh approximately 45kg. Olive ridley populations are in sharp decline due to a familiarlist of causes including poaching of eggs, beachdevelopment, fishing, and pollution.The beliefthat turtle eggs have aphrodisiac properties is amajor threat to olive ridley populations in Centraland South America. Like the Kemp’s ridley turtle,the olive ridley will always be vulnerable becausesuch a large proportion of its reproductive effortis concentrated in only a few locations. Human-caused or natural disturbances to nesting beaches and internesting areas can have huge repercussions on the whole population.

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Green turtles (Chelonia mydas)So called because of the colour of the cartilageand fat deposits around its internal organs, greenturtles are dark black-brown or greenish yellow.At up to 1.5m in length, the green turtle is thelargest cheloniid turtle.An estimated 100,000green turtles are killed around the Indo-Australianarchipelago each year.There is a near total eggremoval in several countries, e.g.Thailand andMalaysia (although egg production in Sarawakdropped from 2,200,000 eggs in the mid-1930sto 175,000 in 1995) and disease threatens

populations elsewhere.As a result, populationsare declining worldwide, with numbers inIndonesia decreasing by tenfold since the 1940s,and by more than half in French Polynesia. It isuncertain whether the current increase in thenesting female numbers in Tortuguero, Costa Rica,will be hampered by the ongoing catch of thousands of green turtles for their meat inNicaragua.

Flatback turtles (Natator depressus)The flatback is a distinctive species, having a flatbody and smooth carapace with upturned edgesand growing to approximately 100 cm. It has themost limited range of any marine turtle species,being found only around the northern half ofAustralia, and in the seas between northernAustralia and southern parts of Indonesia andPapua New Guinea. Flatbacks only very rarelyleave the shallow waters of the continental shelf,and nest only in northern Australia, where beaches on small offshore islands are the mostimportant sites.The restricted range means thatthe flatback is extremely vulnerable to habitatloss, especially of breeding sites, but the majorthreat appears to be incidental catch by thenumerous fishing vessels operating in watersfavoured by these turtles.Annual nesting populations range up to 10,000, but long-termchanges in this species are currently impossibleto measure, as most populations have never beenmonitored.

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2. WWF IN ACTIONThe following is a description of the marine turtle conservation work that WWF conducts orsupports across the world. In most, if not all,cases,WWF works in partnership with otherorganisations and government agencies, even if not specifically mentioned here, to undertake thiswork.This partnership approach is fundamentalto the way WWF conducts is marine turtle conservation work.

2.1 Reducing overexploitationof turtle meat, parts, eggs, and shells and promoting non-consumptive alternatives

Marine turtles have been an integral part of coastal

societies around the world for centuries, for cultural, economic and nutritional reasons.Whilethere has been sustainable exploitation of marineturtle resources in some parts of the world, inmost cases over-exploitation has led to severepopulation declines.WWF is working to protectturtles from over-exploitation at all life stagesthrough site-based protection, community education, capacity building, developing non-consumptive alternatives, policy interventionsand through TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring programme of WWF and IUCN.

Indo- Pacific

Kei islands – traditional catch of leatherback turtles

The Kei Islands group is located in the MalukuProvince of Indonesia between New Guinea andAustralia. Leatherback turtles, locally known asTabob, are the most important marine species for local people’s subsistence needs.A lack ofwildlife in the forests and an increasing humanpopulation are suspected to be the main reasonsfor the tradition of turtle hunting. Local peoplealso believe that their ancestors require them to hunt for their ritual ceremonies and daily subsistence. Each season, approximately 100leatherbacks are captured by the villagers of Kei.These leatherback turtles are likely to come fromthe north coast of Papua, some 1000 km away bysea.As Pacific leatherbacks are critically endan-gered, this annual mortality level is too high for

the survival of the species.WWF is working withthese communities to reduce the hunting rate inorder to sustain indigenous use of the leatherbackturtles at a level that promotes the recovery ofthe species.

The first step of this work has been to assess thesocio-cultural background of the turtle huntingpractice, including traditional knowledge of turtleecology, local hunting management techniques,and the customary decision making framework ineight villages of Kei Kecil islands. Based on theresults of the assessment, conservation strategieswill be developed to obtain the communities’support for turtle conservation.These strategieswill include awareness-raising and education,livelihood support for participation inleatherback conservation and a sustainable hunting system regulated by customary and government law.

Hawksbill turtle parts trade in Southeast Asia As the hawksbill turtle is listed in Appendix I ofCITES, international commercial trade in its shellproducts, known in the Far East as bekko, isbanned between member countries to CITES.Bekko trade is also banned from domestic tradeby national legislation in an increasing number ofcountries. Still, illegal bekko trade continues —with Southeast Asia remaining one of the majorregions of supply.TRAFFIC is investigating the status of trade and stockpiles of bekko in two traditionally key countries involved in the trade— Indonesia and Viet Nam. TRAFFIC and WWFwill continue to work with government partnersin both countries on this issue.

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Fiji moratorium on turtle hunting and tradeThe waters off Fiji provide important foraginggrounds for marine turtles, especially green turtles which have been recorded traveling fromas far afield as French Polynesia, American Samoaand Eastern Australia.Traditionally turtle huntingwas one of the duties of selected members of theclan, who were well educated in the natural history and traditional taxonomy of turtles, andwere responsible for supplying animals at thechief’s request for consumption on special occasions.With the weakening of traditionalrestrictions on when and where, and by whom,turtles can be hunted, many Fijians, Indians andRotumans now consider turtles to be commonproperty.Turtles are targeted for general consumption as well as for sale in local markets.The eggs are also targeted for subsistence purposes. In addition, turtle shells are still sold for both ornamental curios and jewellery. Fiji is a party to CITES and therefore export of turtleshells has been prohibited since 1990, although a number of exemptions have been granted. Afive year moratorium was imposed on the killingof turtles, the taking or destroying of eggs, andthe trade of turtle meat and eggs from 1995 toDecember 2000.This was not renewed in totality immediately once the first 5 years hadceased. However, partly through WWF’s recentparticipation in a collaborative national survey ofthe status of marine turtles, and lobbying of thegovernment by WWF, other organisations andcommunity members, the government hasextended the moratorium from 2004 for another five years.

Sustainable management of marine resources in Fiji

WWF focuses much of its conservation efforts inthe South Pacific on changing the turtle huntingpractices of customary resource owners througheducation and awareness.Work is carried outwith communities to develop mechanismsthrough which they can play a direct role inmarine turtle conservation. For example, in Fiji,WWF is helping the customary resource ownersof Ono Island to set up a community-basedMarine Protected Area (MPA).Through this support, local people have acquired new skills inmonitoring the health of their reefs.Additionally,the use of fish poisons, destructive fishing practices and poor land-use practices have been

outlawed.There is also a current ban on thecatching of turtles within their MPA.To enforcethe rules developed by the community, a numberof villagers have been appointed and trained ashonorary fisheries’ wardens.

The same approach is being used to develop astrategy to integrate turtle conservation into community-based marine protected areas in theGreat Astrolabe Reef, Kadavu.WWF has carriedout marine conservation awareness programmestargeted at customary resource owners, and willbe working with them to establish an MPA to protect hawksbill turtle nesting sites at QasibaleIsland.As part of establishing the MPA,WWF will assist customary resource owners with anassessment of their current marine turtle huntingpractices (traditional and non-traditional), andwith developing and implementing managementmeasures to protect and conserve turtle populations in the area.

Bali, Indonesia – the intensive green turtle trade

Bali has been called “the centre of the most intensive exploitation of green marine turtles for human consumption in the world” (Salm, R.quoted to WWF, 1984).The total number of greenturtles traded in Bali during 1969 – 1994 averagedabout 20,000 per year.WWF, amongst other international organisations, raised considerableinternational awareness of this situation andundertook an initial investigation into the turtletrade in Bali in 1984. Despite local and nationallaws and regulations being issued in the late1980s, the turtle harvest did not change markedlyfrom the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s. Otherspecies of marine turtle were afforded completeprotection, but the green turtle was still subjectto a quota system of 5000 turtles per year,officially for religious purposes only. However,more than 20,000 green turtles were still caughteach year. Recent research has indicated that thisturtle fishery affects most of the genetically distinct populations of green turtles in the Indo-Australasian region.

WWF initiated a large marine turtle campaign in 1995, focusing on awareness raising and education using traditional daily events to deliver the messages. Additionally,WWF formedan alliance with the Hindu High Council to inves-tigate the roles of marine turtles to other life on

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earth, in the Veda (the holy Hindu script).Afterextensive literature views and discussions, theconclusion was reached that turtle consumptionis driven more by customary use than religiousneed.The Hindu High Council has undertakenmuch work to persuade Balinese people toreplace turtle meat with alternatives during religious festivals.

The green turtle was finally totally protected bylaw in 1999, and the earlier Governor’s Decreesetting the quota was repealed. However, whenthe law was enforced through turtle confiscationsand fines, the fishermen protested. WWF’s contin-uing approach has been to emphasize publicawareness and training for law enforcement, butbased on the clear need of affected fishermen,has recently extended its work to include investigation and provision of alternative livelihoods.

WWF and the Bali government have collaboratedon many recent initiatives to curb the consumption level and provide alternatives,including developing a national action plan andlocal turtle monitoring and enforcement teams —the Turtle Task Forces. In 2001 and 2002, the numbers of turtles traded per month were

reduced to almost half the previous levels (600per month as opposed to over 1,300 the previousyear).WWF is now concentrating on developing asustainable financing scheme for the Turtle TaskForces, protected areas for critical habitats and anetwork of turtle based tourism that includesBali, Berau and East Java.WWF, the governmentand several other conservation organisations areworking towards a target of 90% reduction of current green turtle trade levels by 2005.

Derawan Islands, Indonesia – regulation ofegg collection

The nesting population of green turtles in theDerawan Islands, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, withmore than 5000 females per year, is one of thelargest in Southeast Asia. However, numbers ofturtles have been decimated (over a 90% decline)in the last 50 years, mainly due to egg collection.The sale of egg concessions is under local government control and is one of the majorsources of income for the local government.

Despite this dramatic decline in the nesting population, the numbers of eggs harvested annually have been rising, but this simply reflectsan increase in collecting effort. Unfortunately,this increasing egg collection, and the regularpresence of turtles in the water around theIslands, masks the fact that the population facesan imminent and irreversible crash. Existing conservation measures included a requirementfor setting aside 10% of nests and a governmentsupervised head-start programme, however theseare considered insufficient to stabilize or restorethe population levels.

In 2000,WWF started a monitoring and outreachprogramme on Sangalaki Island, to build local support for conservation through partnershipsand to demonstrate that an aging female population with little current recruitment willnot support any turtle based industry into thefuture, whether egg-collection or tourism.Aftersix months of data-collection and lobbying,WWFsucceeded in having the set-aside quota for conservation doubled to 20% and was invited to provide technical advice on turtle resourcemanagement efforts.

Additionally, a multi stakeholder workshop conducted recently by WWF Indonesia and partners developed a common vision, strategies

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and action plans for sustainable use of marine turtles in the islands.The most critical outcomewas the target of full protection from turtle eggharvesting for Sangalaki (the major turtle rookery) and Derawan Islands. Currently,WWF and the local government are working to strengthen and expand the partnershipbetween key local government decision makers,the private sector, including local and nationaltourism industries, to create a sustainable financing scheme for managing the turtle population in the region, and to promote the designation of 70,000 hectares of waters surrounding Sangalaki and Panjang Island (inDerawan Islands) as marine turtle sanctuary areas.

West Indian Ocean

Madagascar – developing alternativesA major challenge to marine turtle conservationin Madagascar is the high level of subsistence useof natural resources, including marine turtles, incommunities which lack obvious alternatives. Pastwork by WWF in Madagascar has been focusedon community-based conservation programmes inthe Fort Dauphin area where green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles nest. In 2002/2003 WWF initiated tagging activities in northernMadagascar, and commenced a trade assessmentat two high-risk sites together with small scaleawareness activities.WWF has identified capacitybuilding and developing livelihood alternatives ashigh priorities for future work.

Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania — developing alternatives to marine turtle over-exploitation

WWF is working with local communities on Mafia Island on a variety of natural resource management topics, including fisheries management, alternative non-destructive fishingventures and marine turtle conservation.Additional support for the turtle conservationprogramme is provided by the WildlifeConservation Society (WCS) and Born FreeFoundation, amongst others. Over the last nestingseason on Mafia Island, over 10,000 hatchlingswere produced from nest protection, and the rateof human poaching fell to 4% of previous levels.Part of WWF‘s work in this area has also been tosupport the new zoning measures in Mafia IslandMarine Park, which are anticipated to reducebycatch levels of marine turtles in no-fishingzones.

Atlantic coast of Africa

Senegal – working to curb turtle meat consumption

Feeding grounds in Sine Saloum, Senegal, are considered to be regionally important for marineturtles. However, turtles are under many threatshere as elsewhere, including through local consumption of both turtle meat and eggs.Artisanal fishermen sometimes purposefully capture adult turtles in known foraging groundson days when their fishing captures are low.WWFhas worked with partners “le village des tortues”on raising awareness of the need for marine turtle conservation in Senegal.As a result, the consumption of turtles has stopped in some villages where turtles were traditionally eaten.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Peru – cutting down on illegal consumption ofturtle meat

WWF has worked in Peru with local partners onvarious initiatives, including a turtle conservationproject south of Lima, law enforcement on landand at sea, initiatives against by-catch and illegalconsumption, and environmental education andawareness campaigns with local fishermen,villagers and public authorities. One of theoutstanding achievements of this work was the

recent reduction (by two thirds) of the numberof commercial establishments selling turtle meatin the Pisco Paracas area.This was a direct resultof numerous control operatives set-up to preventboth the capture and sale of marine turtles.

Hawksbill trade in the Caribbean Hawksbill turtles were historically heavily utilizedfor the use of their shells in tortoiseshell jewelry– popular both in the Caribbean and in the FarEast. International trade in turtle products wasformerly a major cause of population depletion.Since all species of marine turtles were listed inAppendix I of CITES, trade between parties stateshas decreased. However, illegal trade and huntingfor international markets outside the CITES frame-work remains of concern, and local consumptioncontinues in some countries. Cuba has presentedin recent years a proposal to CITES, to sell thestockpile of hawksbill shells acquired as a prod-uct of their legal turtle harvest.WWF has stronglyadvocated against any resumption of internationaltrade of any species until it can be shown thatthe species in question has sufficiently recovered

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to sustain trade, that the governments have sufficient capacity and commitment to enableenforcement and implementation of national andinternational laws, that other populations will notbe put at risk, and that such trade will not nega-tively affect the recovery of populations to fulfilltheir ecological roles, or maintain their demo-graphic health and genetic diversity. Of additionalconcern are three other shell stockpiles in theCaribbean, two in Jamaica and one in theBahamas.The Cuban attempts to obtain permission to trade shells legally under CITEShave been unsuccessful. However, Cuba is partici-pating in regional dialogues on the species conservation.WWF is maintaining a close dialogue with the Cuban government through our presence in La Habana, and is exploring alter-natives to the marine turtle harvest with local scientists, including a study of the nutritional and cultural value of the turtles.WWF is alsoadvocating regional cooperation on hawksbillconservation and management, as the solutionsrequire a regional approach due to the nature of hawksbill migrations that encompass the jurisdictional waters of several nations, and ofgenetically distinct stocks that mix at key feedingsites in the Caribbean.

Commercial trade of marine turtles in thenorthern Caribbean

TRAFFIC North America recently completed atrade review and legal analysis of the fisheriesand primarily commercial trade of marine turtlesin the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti,Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico,Turks and CaicosIslands, British Virgin Islands, and US VirginIslands.The study has confirmed that demand forturtle meat and eggs remains strong in the region,and the use of marine turtles continues in allareas surveyed, despite fully protective legislationin 5 of the 11 nations/territories reviewed. Pastover-exploitation devastated nesting populationsin the Cayman Islands, and they remain on theverge of extinction in that territory.

Costa Rica: supporting anti-poaching measures

Tortugero, an initiative developed by theCaribbean Conservation Corporation, is now asuccess story in demonstrating the economicbenefits of live turtles versus dead ones.

Tortugero, in the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica, isthe largest nesting site of the green turtle in theAtlantic Ocean. Leatherback, hawksbill, and log-gerhead turtles also nest here. During the 1960’snearly every green turtle coming to nest therewas taken for the turtle soup export market.Today, some 50,000 tourists come to Tortugero tosee the nesting turtles and other wildlife.Thelocal community benefits directly from thetourism through becoming certified guides fornight turtle watching excursions, and by othertourism related services, which generate an annu-al gross income of close to $ 7 million dollars.

WWF is supporting a Leatherback Sea Turtle Anti-poaching project, also developed by theCaribbean Conservation Corporation, as a way tocontribute to the recovery of the Atlanticleatherbacks and to emphasize that a marine tur-tle is worth more alive than dead.

Marine Turtle Trade in the southern Caribbean

TRAFFIC has recently undertaken a survey of thesouthern Caribbean nations, as a complementaryinitiative to the 2001 northern Caribbean report,“Swimming against the Tide”.The survey focusedon legislation, stockpiles and managementinitiatives, and developed recommendations to

assist conservation of marine turtles in the 26countries involved.The extreme variability in therespective countries’ ecology and cultures, legalframeworks, economies, and management regimesclearly produces a complex situation for effectiveregional management of migratory animals suchas marine turtles.The survey found encouragingsigns of improving marine turtle management bymany governments. However, it also found thatgreater technical, human and financial resourceswill be needed to effectively conserve depletedmarine turtle populations in the region.


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2.2 Working with fisher folk,scientists and governmentsto reduce incidental catch of turtles in fisheries Worldwide, hundreds ofthousands of marine turtles

are caught in shrimp trawls, on long-line hooksand in fishing nets each year.WWF is working toreduce bycatch through improvements in fishinggear and techniques and, where necessary,restrictions on where and when certain kinds of fishing should take place.

Worldwide

Longline bycatch – reducing bycatch throughchanges in fishing gear and techniques

Bycatch from longlining and purse seine fisheriesis a largely unquantified, but anecdotally extremely serious threat to marine turtles. Limiteddata gathered from the Secretariat of the PacificCommunity of the Western Pacific FisheriesCouncil suggests an interaction rate of 12,000-20,000 interactions per year for Asian long-linefleets alone.

Recent research conducted in the north Atlanticby NOAA (U.S. National Ocean and AtmosphericAdministration) has revealed that this bycatchcan be significantly reduced through changes in

fishing gear and techniques. Working closely withthe Bluewater Fisherman’s Association, NOAAresearchers determined that the bycatch of turtles can be drastically reduced through a seriesof measures including the use of mackerel insteadof squid for bait, the use of circle hooks instead ofthe traditional J hooks, reducing the length of daylight hours that the hooks are in the waterand the use of de-hooking devices to releasehooked turtles. While these measures reducedturtle bycatch by as much as ninety percent insome cases, they did not significantly reduce thecatch of target species of the fishery. WWF hasbeen vocal in its support of this promising experiment and the importance of changes infishing gears and techniques as a key element of a comprehensive strategy to conserve marine turtles.

WWF is calling on governments and fishinggroups around the world to build on this exciting

research initiative — and to expeditiously undertake similar research and implement newconservation measures in other fleets and otheroceans to conserve turtles. Working in conjunction with NOAA and the Inter-AmericanTropical Tuna Commission (IATTC),WWF is helping Ecuadorian fishermen put this into practice.WWF will be supporting experiments,similar to those in the Atlantic, with Ecuador’slongline fleet.WWF also will be working withother Latin American countries and distant waterfishing fleets to develop similar experiments.

On a regional level,WWF is working through theIATTC, which has recognized the importance ofthe bycatch problem. The January 2004 meetingof the Bycatch Working Group of the IATTC inKobe, Japan was an important opportunity to take these recommendations forward.WWF participated in this meeting, working with variousdelegations in attendance and also some not ableto attend, to support measures to reduce bycatchthroughout the eastern Pacific ocean. WWF isalso working with the IATTC to identify areas thatshould be prioritized for time and area closuresor targeted bycatch reduction efforts.This isbeing done through geographic information system (GIS) -based analysis of IATTC data todetermine the patterns of interaction betweenturtles and fishing fleets.

Indo-Pacific

Marine Debris in Northern Australia – marineturtles entangled in ghost nets

Tonnes of discarded fishing nets, plastic bottles,rubber footwear and other marine debris washup on remote northern Australian beaches everyyear. Marine debris significantly impacts marineturtles and their habitats, particularly throughentanglement in ghost nets.WWF works withAboriginal communities, Indigenous Sea Rangersand other partners at permanent monitoring sitesto survey the amount, type and probable origin ofmarine debris washing ashore.The informationgathered forms the basis of advocacy with governments and industry in the region for management interventions to reduce marinedebris.

To help identify discarded fishing nets collectedduring marine debris surveys or found at sea,WWF has produced ‘The Net Kit’.The Net Kitdetails net colour, mesh size, twine size and,

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where possible, the probable country of origin of fishing nets collected in WWF’s marine debrissurveys. The second edition, due to be released in2004, will contain over 170 different net types.Torecord all the instances of marine entanglement,WWF has established a national database formarine debris.This contains results of marinedebris surveys by WWF and other groups aroundAustralia, reports of derelict nets found at sea bycommercial fishers and government agencies, anddetails of turtle entanglements.

Prawn trawling in the Great Barrier ReefThe Great Barrier Reef (GBR), although a WorldHeritage Area, and broadly classified as a ‘protected area’, is still largely open to fishing.Currently only 4.6% of the GBR is within highlyprotected zones, and 50% of the Marine Park isopen to trawl fishing (although this will soonchange as the new Representative AreasProgramme zoning is introduced; see section 2.3).WWF has been campaigning actively for severalyears to phase out destructive fishing practicesand ensure that fishing efforts in the Park are atsustainable levels. Part of WWF’s emphasis hasbeen on the introduction of Turtle ExcluderDevices (TEDs) into the East Coat Trawl Fishery.In 2001,TEDs and Bycatch Excluder Devices weremade mandatory by the Queensland government,for all trawl vessels operating along the east coastof Queensland, including in the GBR.

Non-compliance over the use of TEDs— Orissa, IndiaOne of the main threats to marine turtles inOrissa is from trawl fishing in the ‘no fishing’zones and non-compliance over the use of TurtleExcluder Devices (TEDs), even though they aremandatory by law.Trawlers operating illegally inthe coastal protected area during the nesting season cause an increased number of turtlestrandings and mortality.WWF is engaged in dialogue with the fishing community and the government in order to regulate the fishing operations and develop turtle-friendly fishingpractices.

West Indian Ocean

Mozambique - Turtle Excluder Devices made mandatory

Mozambique is exceptional in East Africa in thatall five species of marine turtles (green, logger-

head, leatherback, hawksbill and olive ridley)found in its waters also come ashore to nest.Shallow coastal areas such as the Sofala Bank,rich in sea grasses, are prime feeding grounds

for green turtles which make them especially vulnerable to bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery.A study undertaken by WWF in 2001 calculatedthat shallow shrimp water trawlers catchbetween1,900 and 5,400 marine turtles eachyear. Most of these deaths could be prevented bythe use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) on thetrawl nets.The same study demonstrated throughexperimental trials, that the use of recommendedTEDs had no impact on the amount of shrimpscaught, and also excluded other large animalssuch as rays that can potentially crush theshrimps in the catch and lead to lower saleprices.A WWF online public advocacy campaignurging Mozambique’s Ministers to take action toprevent further losses of turtles was launched inFebruary 2003.As a result of this, and WWF’swork with the relevant Ministers, a newRegulation for Marine Fisheries was approved bythe Council of Ministers in October 2003, whichmade TEDs compulsory in trawl nets inMozambique. In an effort to reduce long-line turtle bycatch by illegal and unlicensed longlinefishing vessels in Mozambique waters, theGovernment has begun to intercept these vessels, through a military team based at Bazaruto Archipelago National Park.

Reducing bycatch in the South African pelagic longline fishery

WWF is initiating a project in conjunction withthe South African pelagic longline fishing fleet toenhance awareness and uptake of best-practicebycatch mitigation measures, principally focusedon seabirds, but also dealing with other threat-ened species caught in the industry such asmarine turtles. The approach will be through amulti-stakeholder forum, where government, thefishing industry and Non GovernmentOrganisations (NGOs) can address bycatch mitigation matters in a non-confrontational “solutions-oriented” manner, and involve the fishers in the development of seabird, shark andturtle conservation measures.


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Longline fisheries in the Benguela ecosystem — working with the industry on solutions

The productive waters of the Benguela ecosystemare an important foraging area for thirteenspecies of seabirds that are killed in significantnumbers by longline fisheries.Additionally, sixthreatened shark species and six turtle speciesare also believed to be killed in longline fishingoperations in this area.WWF is starting a projectto assess and reduce the bycatch of threatenedseabirds, sharks and turtles on longline fisheriesin the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem(BCLME).The project will be implemented inSouth Africa, Namibia and Angola, and will mainlyconcentrate on increasing the understanding ofthe nature and scale of impacts, raising awarenessof the conservation issues, training and capacitybuilding of the fishing industry and government,demonstration trials of known mitigation meas-ures, and encouraging the active participation ofthe fishing industry in dealing with this issue.

Atlantic basin

Gabon, French Guiana, Panama, Uruguay: transatlantic leatherback migrations

Leatherbacks nesting in globally important sitesin Suriname and French Guyana have beenrecorded migrating across the Atlantic to thenorth coast of Africa.The origin of turtles foundin waters offshore Uruguay and Argentina, and thetravel routes of leatherbacks nesting in Gabon areunknown.The main threat to the Atlanticleatherbacks is believed to be incidental capturein coastal gill nets and longlines.WWF is currentlycoordinating a multilateral project for the study oftransatlantic leatherback movements with FrenchGuiana, Panama, Uruguay and Gabon.The dataplatform from the project will form the basis ofthe design of bycatch reduction measures in theAtlantic Ocean.A communications initiative willraise awareness of the need for international cooperation to address the conservation challenges of these turtles. In 2003 WWF facilitated the formation of an NGO alliance andaction plan for the conservation of marine turtlesin the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, includingBrazil, Uruguay and Argentina, and the transat-lantic leatherback project contributes to the implementation of the action plan.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexico – toward nest protection and bycatch reduction of leatherbacks

Mexico harbours the most important nesting sitesfor leatherbacks in the Eastern Pacific.A 95% population decline over the past 15 years hasmeant that the species is close to extinction inthis region.WWF is supporting scientific work tohelp increase the coverage of nest protection inMexican beaches, as well as introduce bycatchreduction measures in fisheries policies.A recentagreement between three Mexican states for theprotection of leatherbacks is a window of opportunity to instigate specific time-area fisheries closures that will ensure a safe arrivaland departure for the turtles that breed along the Mexican coast.

Ecuador – gear fixes to reduce bycatch in the artisanal fisheries fleet

Leatherback, olive ridley and Eastern Pacific greenturtles are regularly at high risk of incidental capture during fisheries operations along thePacific coast of Latin America. As discussed previously, studies carried out by NOAA in theAtlantic Ocean suggest that adaptations to thefishing gear can significantly reduce bycatch ofmarine turtles.Working closely with the IATTCand NOAA,WWF is undertaking a pioneeringeffort in the Eastern Pacific to test such gear fixesfor their efficiency and conservation impact.Thiswork is designed to facilitate the shift of theEcuadorian artisanal fisheries fleet from traditional j-hooks to circular hooks and providethem with dehooking equipment and training.

Mediterranean

Italy - bycatch reduction campaignAs part of its “Out of the Blue” marine programmein the Mediterranean,WWF is conducting a campaign in Italy to decrease mortality of marineturtles due to bycatch.WWF has supported thepresence of independent observers on Italianlongline fishing fleets to monitor fish catches anddocument the extent of marine turtle and sharkbycatch and mortality.This type of monitoringprogramme is limited by the high costs involved,and the alternative is to involve the fishing industry in collecting the data.These data willprovide valuable information about the rate andnature of fishing interactions, in order to guidefuture mitigation measures.WWF is also creating

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a management plan for their five Italian RescueCentres, the goal of which is the veterinary treatment, rehabilitation and release at sea ofmarine turtles.

2.3 Establishing andstrengthening protectedareas around nesting beaches and critical marinehabitatsTurtles nest on the same

beaches and feed in the same areas year afteryear. WWF is working to establish and ensureeffective management of marine protected areasin the most important marine turtle habitats, andthose under the most threat.

Worldwide

One of WWF’s global targets is the establishmentand implementation of a comprehensive networkof effectively managed, ecologically representativeMarine Protected Areas. Networks of marine protected areas are the most effective way tohelp conserve species that travel large distancesand cross many habitats in their life-cycles. Marine turtles use beaches, open ocean currents,migration corridors, offshore habitats close to

nesting beaches, sea grass beds, and coral reefs,with critical habitats often spread out over manycountries.They are one of the best examples ofspecies that would benefit from a network ofmarine protected areas, providing protection forthe full range of critical habitats and restrictingaccess of damaging fishing gears and otherthreats during migrations.

Indo-Pacific

Bilateral marine turtle conservation agreement in the TIHPA – scaling-up to tri-national arrangements

The Turtle Islands are major rookeries for greenand hawksbill turtles in Southeast Asia. They comprise three Sabah, Malaysia islands, and sixPhilippines islands. Tagging activities, egg production monitoring and genetic studies haveshown that this group of islands is a single well-defined marine turtle rookery with one population of green turtles.As a result, it wasagreed that this island group needed to be treated

as one management unit, despite both sets ofislands being protected independently undertheir individual country’s legislation.WWF wasinstrumental in the facilitation of cooperationbetween the two countries, leading to the signingin 1996 of a bilateral agreement establishing theTurtle Islands Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA),the world’s first transboundary protected area for marine turtles. The islands continue to be managed by their respective country’s management authorities, but under a uniform setof guidelines developed by the Joint ManagementCommittee – comprised of representatives fromeach of the two countries.

South of the Turtle Islands, the Derawan Islandgroup, in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, is anotherextremely important green turtle rookery inSoutheast Asia.The Sulu Sulawesi MarineEcoregion (SSME) Conservation Plan, undertakenby WWF and many other partners, highlighted theglobal importance of all of these islands formarine turtle conservation.At the February 2004 meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, thegovernments of Indonesia, Malaysia, and thePhilippines signed this tri-national conservationplan in an historic public event.This Plan recommends the development of an action strategy for the management of marine turtles,and the establishment and implementation of asystem of marine protected areas within theSSME. Because there are several genetic stocks ofmarine turtles foraging in the Sulu Sulawesi Seas,this MPA network will be designed to specificallyincorporate the protection of varied genetic populations of turtles and different life stages of turtles from different populations.A positiveoutcome of the SSME Conservation Plan recommendations is that the Philippines-MalaysiaJoint Management Committee for the TIHPA,amongst others, has agreed to work towards the establishment of Tri-national Sea TurtleManagement Programme in the SSME.This will include Indonesia, in a separate, but complimentary form, to the TIHPA agreement.

Viet Nam – marine turtle protected area provides a base for a national network of marine protected areas

Viet Nam is located on the South China Sea, ashallow sea widely recognized as part of the

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centre of tropical seas biodiversity. Five species of marine turtle are known to have traditionallyfrequented Viet Nam’s waters, however hawksbilland leatherback turtles are in danger of becominglocally extinct.WWF has been working at one ofthe biggest nesting sites of green turtles since1995, in Con Dao National Park, an archipelago60km off the south coast of Viet Nam. Up to 300 green turtles nest there annually.WWF commenced its work with a marine turtle monitoring project, and broadened the trainingover successive years to include ‘reef check’monitoring training (in 1998), MPA management

and ecosystem monitoring (from 1998), and sponsoring visits by Park personnel to otherASEAN MPAs. In 2000, a national AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) /WWF project usedCon Dao National Park as a demonstration siteaimed at integrating marine biodiversity conservation into the overall environmental management of the island system. Following this and other studies, a formal plan for the establishment of a representative system of MPAs (covering a proposed 17% of the EEZ) was drafted by the Ministry of Fisheries, in consultation with national specialists and otherorganisations including WWF and IUCN.The network currently comprises 15 proposed sites,with a focus on tropical island ecosystems, someof which host other turtle nesting populations,and provide critical offshore turtle habitats.Thissystem is expected to be approved in early 2004,and WWF will advocate Con Dao National Park,with its history of trained personnel and ecosystem monitoring, as a model of management for the rest of the network.

Great Barrier Reef — Representative AreasProgramme (RAP)

The Great Barrier Reef is an extremely importantarea for marine turtles in the Indo-Pacific.As withturtles globally, many of the populations here aredeclining. GBR has the largest green turtle nestingpopulations in the Pacific, and these are displaying characteristics of populations underthreat.The highest density nesting population ofhawksbill turtles in the Pacific at Milman Island isdeclining, and the only significant stock of theloggerhead turtle in the South Pacific, nesting inthe southern GBR, has declined markedly and isunder serious threat. Despite its World Heritagestatus, the GBR Marine Park, until recently, hadnot been well protected with respect to marine

turtle habitats. However, the GBR Marine ParkAuthority (GBRMPA) is in the process of establishing a network of no-take zones throughout all 70 bioregions of the GBR. Marineturtle conservation stands to benefit enormouslyfrom this network of Green Zones. Firstly,GBRMPA has adopted a scientific recommendation that a minimum of 25-30% ofthe Marine Park be protected from fishing, andthat the green zones network will protect criticalnesting, foraging and migration habitats of marineturtles, amongst other endangered species.WWFhas been actively involved at the policy level on advocacy for the RAP and no fishing zones, andhas conducted a high-profile public campaignurging people to become involved in the rezoning plan.WWF considers the final zoningand the RAP to be an exemplary achievement forconservation of this globally significant coral reefsystem and endangered species such as marineturtles.

Another other principal focus of WWF’s work in the Great Barrier Reef is the prevention ofunregulated land-based pollution, caused by agricultural land clearing and poor land management practices upstream in the rivers that discharge into the Marine Park. Over thepast 150 years, the volume of sediment and nutrients flowing into the Marine Park hasquadrupled, and has been shown to degrademany inshore marine ecosystems, includingmarine turtle habitats.A report released by WWFin 2001 entitled “Clear? … or Present Danger”was pivotal in raising government and pubicawareness of this issue.Through involvement ofWWF and other organisations, the Australian andQueensland governments recently jointly releaseda Reef Water Quality Plan.This plan sets out measures to reduce land-based sources of sediment, nutrient and pesticide pollution thatthreaten in-shore reefs and critical habitats.WWFwill continue to work to ensure this plan is adequately funded and efficiently implemented.

Orissa, India – the arribada of the olive ridley turtle

WWF’s direct involvement in marine turtle conservation in India gained momentum in 2003with the focus on one of the most spectacularnesting events in the world – the arribada of oliveridley turtles in the Rushikulya river mouth in theState of Orissa.This mass nesting phenomenon

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used to be concentrated northwards at theGahirimatha and Devi river mouths, but coastalerosion and development have pushed the nesting turtles further south to the Rushikulyariver mouth. Beach development, erosion and predation are all serious threats to the mass nesting. Beach protection work in 2003 includedcreating awareness in the surrounding villages of the endangered status of olive ridley turtles,protecting the nests from predators, and subsequently collecting and releasing the hatchlings into the sea.The beach was net fencedalong the high nesting mark and was patrolled by WWF-India volunteers. Upon hatching, the disoriented hatchlings were collected in bucketsand released near the waters to facilitate their survival.WWF India is also starting to addressmarine turtle conservation awareness in thesouth-east state of Tamil Nadu through traditionalfolk theatre, and through beach cleaning andstakeholder meetings in the central western state of Goa.

Solomon Islands – marine turtle nesting and feeding sites

To complement its objective of securing the protection of all significant Pacific leatherbackhabitats,WWF has begun work on identifying critical feeding grounds and nesting sites formarine turtles (especially leatherbacks) in theSolomon Islands in collaboration with The NatureConservancy (TNC), government partners and theSouth Pacific Regional Environment Programme(SPREP). A national training programme onmarine turtles and dugongs is being developedthat will provide technical information, localknowledge and skills necessary for the government and local communities that currently manage and harvest marine turtles.

Samoa – Exclusive Economic Zone to becomea Whale, Shark and Turtle Sanctuary

WWF recently collaborated with and supportedthe Samoan government to conduct a WhaleAwareness workshop.As a result of this workshop, and continuing advocacy by WWF and other organisations, the Samoan Governmentdeclared its political commitment to establishingits 120,000km2 Economic Exclusive Zone as aWhale, Shark and Turtle Sanctuary in 2002.Thissanctuary is part of a network of whale sanctuaries, covering over 28 million square kmof ocean, declared recently by 11 Pacific nations.

WWF acknowledged this unprecedented conservation measure in a Gift to the Earth celebration in 2003.WWF will continue to work with the Samoan government in their development of an effective management strategy for the Sanctuary.


Cape Verde – marine protected areas andproactive planning for tourism

As part of its ecoregional approach in the countries off West Africa,WWF is currently identifying priorities for future work in marineturtle conservation. One of these is loggerheadtagging and monitoring at Boa Vista, Cape Verde.This site is one of the most important loggerheadnesting beaches in the East Atlantic Ocean, but iscurrently under threat from the increasing andcurrently poorly regulated tourism boom happening in these islands.The site is likely to be eventually designated as a marine protectedarea, but requires proactive planning and regulation development now.This will be beneficial to not only safeguard the turtle nestingbeaches, but also to set in place initiatives thatcan capitalize on the economic benefits of turtle-related tourism.

Senegal – new marine protected areasThrough consultation with WWF and other NGOsand the local communities, the Government ofSenegal recently announced the establishment ofa network of four marine protected areas inSenegal’s coastal zone, effectively protecting fisheries and biodiversity covering more than7,500 square kilometers.These represent a doubling of the marine protected areas forSenegal, and will protect regionally importantfeeding and nesting grounds for five species of marine turtles. Local communities strongly support the protected areas as a means to safeguard these important natural resources forthe future.

Latin America and Caribbean

Colombia – support to a national marine turtleconservation strategyAs part of its trans-Pacific marine turtle conservation efforts,WWF has been involvedwith training for marine turtle conservation and management in the Colombian Pacific.Additionally,WWF’s ecoregional programme


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for the Colombian and Ecuadorian Pacificincludes planning that takes into account important turtle nesting sites. On the Caribbeancoast of Colombia,WWF is also providing support to a community-based leatherback turtle conservation project in the Urabá Gulf.This project includes environmental education on the conservation status of marine turtles andsupport to protected areas important for the turtles.The Colombian government released itsNational Marine Turtle Conservation Strategy in2003, in which WWF played a part in drafting, andfacilitating discussion by relevant parties andstakeholders. Building upon the National Strategyand current project work,WWF is initiating a proposal to safeguard important nesting beachesand wetland feeding areas of marine turtles in theChocó and Urabá region.

Mediterranean

Mediterranean — marine protected areasWWF is working to establish a fully representative network of protected areas in the Mediterranean and is collaborating withgovernments and local conservation organizationsto protect loggerhead nesting beaches in Turkeyand Greece. In 1999, the Greek governmentdeclared a Marine National Park in Zakynthos,which hosts the Mediterranean’s highest densityof nesting loggerheads.WWF contributed to thecompletion of restoration works for the long termprotection of this important loggerhead marineturtle nesting beach in the Mediterranean againsterosion and siltation.

2.4 Involving local communities in monitoring,protecting and managing turtles and their nestsWWF recognizes that conservation strategies

must reflect the dual objectives of simultaneouslyimproving natural resource management and people’s quality of life and that, in most cases,unless the people who are most directly impacted by conservation projects perceive themas beneficial, then biodiversity conservation willnot be feasible. WWF’s work proactively involveslocal communities in monitoring, management

and research, while respecting traditional knowledge and customary laws and practiceswhere possible. In many cases, alternative livelihood development is a crucial part of breaking the cycle of unsustainable resource use.Many of the projects described in this Inventoryfall under this approach, and could be listed hereas well as under the more specific threat (e.g.over-exploitation, habitat degradation, bycatch)that they are addressing.

Indo-Pacific

Indigenous Sea Rangers and marine turtlemanagement – Northern Australia

Over 80% of the northern coastline of Australia isowned and managed by indigenous Aboriginalpeople.WWF is working in partnership withIndigenous Sea Rangers on joint projects thatinclude marine debris surveys and turtle researchand monitoring. Sea Rangers are Aboriginal community representatives who have the responsibility of managing their natural resources.WWF assists Aboriginal communities to establishtheir own marine turtle monitoring programmesby providing training, equipment, additional funding and professional support.This enablesAboriginal communities, via their Sea Rangers, tomonitor their own marine turtle resources and inso doing, provide valuable scientific data aboutthe turtles in their region.

Sea rangers from Dhimurru Land ManagementAboriginal Corporation have been conductinghelicopter based turtle monitoring along theCape Arnhem coastline since 1996.WWF hasassisted with funding since 1999. To date, over200 turtles have been found entangled in discarded fishing nets, over half of which havebeen tagged and released alive. Details of the nettype and turtle species have been entered intothe WWF national marine debris database and theinformation used to combat the threat of marinedebris.

Tourism and turtles — Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

WWF’s involvement with marine turtle conservation at Ningaloo Reef, one of the longestfringing coral reefs in the world, began with itsparticipation in a campaign to halt a proposedbeachside marina and hotel.The proposed development was ultimately rejected by the

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Western Australian Environmental ProtectionAuthority on the basis of posing an unacceptablyhigh environmental risk. Fast growing, unplannedand sometimes poorly regulated tourism is,however, still a major threat to endangered

species such as marine turtles.The loggerhead,green, hawksbill and flatback turtles all nest onNingaloo beaches.WWF has supported a community monitoring project involving the local community, local government, and state government conservation agencies since 2002.WWF staff are also working with all other stakeholders in the region, in order to develop a coordinated and collaborative ConservationStrategy for marine turtles on the Ningaloo Reefand adjacent beaches.This is being framed in the context of the region being a world-class,well-managed, environmentally sustainable touristdestination, and a potential World Heritage site.WWF is also extending its community turtle conservation work to other sites along the northwest coast of Western Australia, includinginto the Kimberley region, where the focus willbe on community participation and sustainablecatch by indigenous Aboriginal people.

Malaysia — education at green turtle nesting beach

WWF conducts the Community Education andAwareness Programme on Turtle Conservation inpartnership with the Department of Fisheries atthe recently established Ma’ Daerah TurtleSanctuary Centre, a hatchery and interpretationcentre, in the Terengganu state on the east coastof peninsular Malaysia.This Sanctuary is a nestingsite primarily of green turtles, although someolive ridley and leatherback also nest here.Theprogramme aims to establish local communityinterest and action groups for the conservation ofturtles in Ma’Daerah, to build the capacity of localcommunities on turtle conservation, and to lobbyfor the gazettal of Ma’Daerah as a turtle sanctuary.

Cook Islands — working with communities tomanage their marine turtle resources

One of the issues facing marine turtle conservation is that many local communities, whomanage their marine resources on a day-to-daybasis, do not have the information they requireupon which to base sound decision making.WWFis working with communities in the Cook Islandsto ensure that local people do have access to the

information they require to sustainably managetheir natural resources, including marine turtles.Part of this is through supplying tags to thosecommunities in the outer islands who want toparticipate in a tagging programme, as well asdirectly tagging and releasing turtles caught inRarotonga Lagoon.Additionally,WWF has runawareness programmes including through amigrating green turtle tagged in Palmerston Atoll.The whole community became involved with theschoolchildren plotting the migration route of theturtle as it traveled across the sea.

Vanuatu – traditional theatre and communitymonitoring of marine turtles

Traditional theatre is a medium which oftenproves successful at exploring conservation andresource use issues in a non-threatening way.WWF employed this approach in Vanuatu by supporting (together with the South PacificRegional Environmental Programme) a local theatre group,Wan Smolbag, to give performancesto raise awareness of marine turtle conservation,and invite local communities to participate inmarine turtle monitoring.The marine turtle conservation theatre programme involves the collection of information and stories upon whichthe theatrical group base their performances, andthe recruitment of “turtle monitors” to provide anetwork of people concerned about turtle conservation. By 2003, as many as 150 turtle monitors in approximately 80 Vanuatu coastal villagers and the “Turtle Monitors Network”were participating in the programme. Before theperformances, many people were unaware of theendangered status of marine turtles, yet as a resultof the post-theatre discussions, some villagesimposed 10 year bans on turtle killing, and consumption in some places has reduced from 30 turtles a month to zero.

West Indian Ocean

Kiunga, Kenya — turning marine debris into alternative livelihoods

In 1996,WWF joined forces with the KenyaWildlife Service, the Fisheries and ForestDepartments and local communities to develop a long-term management strategy integrating conservation and development priorities of theKiunga Marine National Reserve.The project hasfocused on developing sustainable and equitablemethods of using the reserve’s resources.


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Community participation in protecting nestingmarine turtles is fostered through an incentivescheme for nests discovered and protectedthroughout the season. In the last nesting season,over 12,000 hatchlings were released, and 70% of the nests were translocated due to being laidbelow the high water mark or at high risk frompredation.The community has also actively participated in ongoing monitoring of marine turtles and their habitats. In order to broaden thisexpertise base,WWF has recently hosted a marineturtle training course for KESCOM (Kenya SeaTurtle Committee).

Because alternatives to over-use of resources arefew and far between in this remote northern part of Kenya, the project has also developed acreative initiative to utilize the tonnes of marinedebris (mostly rubber footwear from SoutheastAsian waters) that are washed ashore ontoKiunga’s beaches.The debris is washed up heredue to trans-oceanic currents across the IndianOcean.The debris not only interferes with potential nesting sites and emerging hatchlings,but also detracts from the reserve’s tourismpotential.The flip-flops are recycled into a varietyof craft products and provide an alternativesource of income for the local population, ratherthan over-using the natural resources.The plasticcrafts have already had overseas orders, and WWF and the community are seeking to expand markets and distribution channels for their products.

East Africa – working with national marine turtle conservation plans

WWF is working with national committees formarine turtle conservation in Zanzibar,Tanzaniaand Kenya, as well as helping develop and implement national action plans for marine turtles.A prime objective of WWF in all theseareas is to ensure that marine resources are usedsustainably by local communities and that criticalhabitats for marine turtles, as well as coral fishand dugongs, are protected.


Regional conservation network across Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname

Since 2000,WWF has played a key role in establishing a functioning network for marine turtle conservation across French Guiana,

Suriname and Guyana.A Regional Sea TurtleConservation Programme and Action Plan developed by WWF and partners has recentlybeen technically finalised and been submitted for official endorsement nationally and regionally.It provides a framework for integrated scientificinitiatives (including research and monitoring),conservation and public awareness campaigns,and collaboration among local, national andregional entities involved in marine turtle conservation in the Guianas.

On-the-ground marine turtle conservation in the Guianas

The beaches of the Guianas (French Guiana,Suriname and Guyana) host the largest Atlanticleatherback turtle nesting beaches in the world.Hawksbill, olive ridley and green turtles also neston these beaches.The coastline is extremelydynamic in these countries due to the effect ofthe Guianas Current, and one of the continual natural disturbances to nesting beaches is coastalerosion. Egg poaching and incidental capture by fisheries off the coast are both seriously threatening marine turtles in this region.WWFhas supported marine turtle conservation in thesecountries for more than 20 years through marineturtle research, supporting enforcement of conservation regulations, developing ecotourism,encouraging selective fishing gear use, and reducing turtle meat and egg take. Increasingly,local organisations and communities are playingan integral role in the conservation of marine turtles in the Guianas.

In French Guiana, where the historically mostimportant leatherback nesting beach in the worldis located at Awala-Yalimapo beach,WWF workswith a local Amerindian organisation, Kulalasi,in monitoring, poaching mitigation, tourist management, and reinforcing the Amana NatureReserve management.

In Suriname,WWF is currently supporting mostmarine turtle conservation initiatives which arecoordinated under the Foundation for NatureConservation (Stinasu) – a semi-governmentorganisation. Local Amerindian organisations, suchas the community-based Stidunal, are becomingincreasing involved in managing, and benefitingfrom, marine turtle conservation initiatives.WWFhas been involved in building field stations onremote beaches, training rangers, supporting

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sustainable tourism initiatives, and promoting fishing closures in front of a nesting beachreserve.

Shell Beach in Guyana is the last remaining section of natural coastline and mangrove forestsin the country. It hosts leatherback, hawksbill,olive ridley and green turtle nests.WWF andUNDP are providing the technical and financialsupport to the extensive consultation that isneeded to formally declare and manage thisbeach as a reserve. Under the coordination of the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society,WWF has, over the years, supported most marineconservation initiatives including monitoring,beach protection, and enforcement of fishingbans during the nesting season. In the last fewnesting seasons,WWF has supported educationalcamps for local communities and supported theAlmond Bay women’s coconut project — an alternative livelihood option to the poaching of turtle eggs.

Brazil – Programme TamarUntil the end of the 1970s, there were no marineconservation programmes in Brazil. Marine turtleswere in grave danger of local extinction throughcapture in fishing nets, adult females killed formeat and nests being destroyed. In 1980, theBrazilian Institute of Forestry created the TAMARProgramme, to save and protect marine turtlesthrough research, conservation actions and community involvement.The work was soonextended nationwide from the original projectsites, and focuses on the identification of species,the main nesting sites, the nesting seasons, andthe socio-economic reasons for the over-exploitation of marine turtles by coastal communities.Accompanying this has been a large education and awareness-raising campaign.WWF supports Project TAMAR for activities related to tourism and the conservation of greenturtles in the Island Fernando de Noronha MarineNational Park.

Panama – an indigenous community benefitsfrom conserving marine turtles

Playa Chiriqui, a beach in western Panama,was historically the most important nesting site of hawksbills in the Caribbean. However,overexploitation of the turtles for the international shell trade has reduced the population by over 85%. Recently, one of the

two communities of the Ngöbe-BugleAmerindians, custodians of the beach and its natural resources, has decided to protect the turtles.WWF is working in partnership with theCaribbean Conservation Corporation to securethe recovery of the hawksbills at Playa Chiriqui,by building capacity among the Ngöbe-Bugle forthe design and implementation of a touristscheme that translates conservation efforts intotangible community benefits.

Mediterranean

Spain – action plan and awareness campaignWWF produced a position paper aboutMediterranean marine turtles in Spain, with anaction plan for fisheries and for Natura 2000.Themain objective of the NATURA 2000 protectedarea network is to ensure the survival of speciesthat are threatened or rare throughout Europe.WWF also carried out a summer campaign of raising awareness:“A fondo 2002”, which wasfocused on marine turtles.

Turkey – First National Marine TurtleSymposium organized by WWF

The first systematic surveys of nesting beachesfor the two marine turtle species breeding on the Turkish coasts of the Mediterranean Sea —the loggerhead and green turtle — started in1979 with the support of WWF and IUCN. In1988, 17 sites were designated as Marine TurtleNesting Sites. However, a recent report from WWFindicated that 64 per cent of these sites are notadequately protected.The report, In the Tracks ofMarine Turtles:Assessment of Marine TurtleNesting Sites 2003, was distributed during theFirst Turkish National Marine TurtleSymposium, which was held in December 2003in Istanbul,Turkey and organized by WWF-Turkey.A draft National Action Plan for MarineTurtles was formulated during the Symposium.It included recommendations to prepare a finalNational Action Plan for the conservation ofmarine turtles and their habitats as soon as possible; to establish marine turtle rescue andrehabilitation centres; and to standardize methodsemployed in conservation and monitoring of thenesting sites.


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2.5 Promoting regional andinternational agreements toconserve marine turtles.Because of the highly migratory nature of marineturtles and the variety of

territorial and international waters that theirrange often spans,WWF believes that internation-al and regional agreements for marine turtle con-servation and management play a vital role intheir survival. For this reason,WWF actively pro-motes these agreements, and works with theSecretariats and participating countries tostrengthen the implementation of such agree-ments.

To date, international agreements focused specifically on marine turtles exist for the IndianOcean, Southeast Asia,Atlantic Coast of Africa, andthe Inter-American region. Also, certain globaltreaties, including the Convention on MigratorySpecies of Wild Animals (CMS), the Convention onBiological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species of WildFauna and Flora (CITES) apply to marine turtles.WWF is actively involved in advocacy concerningthese treaties especially, to promote marine turtleconservation measures by the signatory States.

Indo-Pacific and West Indian Ocean

Memorandum of Understanding on theConservation and Management of MarineTurtles and their Habitats in the Indian Oceanand South East Asia

Regional marine turtle agreements under the auspices of the Convention of Migratory Speciesof Wild Animals have been developed to covervarious parts of the globe. One of these is theMemorandum of Understanding on theConservation and Management of Marine Turtlesand their Habitats in the Indian Ocean and SouthEast Asia (CMS-IOSEA), commenced in 2001.WWFwas an observer at the first meeting of signatoryStates (2003) and is working with governments of both signatory and non-signatory States, tofacilitate their implementation of theConservation and Management Plan. In the WestIndian Ocean, and Southeast Asia + Australia sub-regions of the MOU,WWF is a significant collaborative implementing partner of many of

the governments concerned.Additionally,WWFworks with the Secretariat and government counterparts in non-signatory countries to facilitate their accession.


Tortues Marines d’Afrique Ouest and the CMS Abidjan MOU

WWF in West Africa has a regional marine turtleconservation project that aims to build capacityfor marine turtle management at national andregional levels, to address information needs formarine turtle management, to strengthen regionalcollaboration, and to implement priority management actions. As in many regions aroundthe world, information concerning turtle habitatsand population dynamics is incomplete. Regionalcollaboration in collecting and sharing researchdata, as well as sharing information on commonmarine turtle conservation issues, is needed toguide management actions and determine priorities.To this end,WWF’s West African Marine Ecoregion Programme, IUCN and theInternational Foundation for the Banc D’Arguin(FIBA), co-convened a six country turtle workshop in June 2002, for regional governmentsand NGOs involved in marine turtle conservation.This has led to the development of a regionalaction plan for the conservation of marine turtlesin this region, under a regional turtle network(TOMAO - Tortues Marines d’Afrique Ouest)which stretches down northern West Africa fromMauritania to Guinea.This network is one of threethat cover the sub-regions under the CMS AbidjanMOU for Conservation Measures for MarineTurtles of the Atlantic coast of Africa.This CMSagreement covers all the countries from theStraits of Gibraltar to the Cape of Good-Hope,including the islands of Macaronesia, Saint-Helena,Ascension, and the Spanish territory of Ceuta.Anongoing WWF initiative to study the movementsof Atlantic leatherback turtles and design by-catchreduction measures in the Atlantic basin is directly pertinent to the aims of the Abidjan MoU.


Inter-American Convention for the Protectionand Conservation of Marine turtles

The Inter-American Convention for the Protectionand Conservation of Marine turtles (IAC) is the only major international treaty dedicatedexclusively to marine turtles and their habitats,

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formally setting standards for their conservation.The IAC entered into force in 2001 and WWF hasplayed a leading role in the development andstrengthening of the Convention.WWF supportedthe publication of an informational booklet aboutthe convention to promote wider understandingof its text and objectives, and also participatedactively at the second meeting of the FirstConference of Parties held in Costa Rica, 2003.One of WWF’s objectives is to facilitate the accession of relevant countries to theConvention, and to this end,WWF is currently indiscussion with key countries in the region.WWFis lobbying the Colombian government to join theIAC and recently commissioned a legal studyinvestigating the niche of that Convention in relation to other pertinent treaties to whichColombia is also a signatory.As part of its effortsin the Southwestern Atlantic,WWF is raising theprofile of marine turtles and their conservationneeds amongst the general public and lobbyingthe Argentinean government to join the IAC.

Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Conference

In their Plan of Action resulting from the Summitof the Americas meeting in Quebec in 2001,Leaders in the Western Hemisphere issued a call to “advance hemispheric conservation ofplants, animals and ecosystems through…thedevelopment of a hemispheric strategy to support the conservation of migratory wildlifethroughout the Americas.”The WesternHemisphere Migratory Species Conference wasconvened to support the Summit Plan of Actionby articulating a strategy that identifies conservation priorities for migratory species in the Americas. The first meeting of theConference took place in 2003 in Chile, with an emphasis on migratory birds.WWF was elected to the Interim Steering Committee as the representative for NGO´s for non-bird speciesand will participate in the construction of a hemispheric conservation agenda for marine turtles under the umbrella of this conference.

Worldwide

Ecoregional Planning WWF is undertaking collaborative conservationplanning at the large ecosystem level in severalmarine ecoregions across the globe that areimportant habitats for marine turtles.The

rationale behind conservation planning at thisscale is that these ecosystems form reasonablydiscrete ecological units, and as such, are bestplanned for at this scale.This is not without significant challenges, as an ecoregion often spansseveral political boundaries, the conservation planneeds to include all relevant stakeholders, and the institutional and political frameworks areoften found to need major review. One of the significant outputs from these planning processesis an identification of critical species, habitats andthreats within an ecoregion.This leads to a better understanding of where to locate marineprotected area networks, managed marine areas,no-fishing zones and the socio-economic practicalities of conservation in the ecoregion.To date, marine turtle conservation in manyecoregions, including the Bismarck Solomon Seas,Sulu Sulawesi Seas, Fiji Barrier Reef, East AfricanMarine,West African Marine, Mesoamerican Reef,and the Colombian and Ecuadorian Pacific CoastEcoregions, has benefited from this level of planning and the collation of data to support it.In fact, marine turtle conservation is one of thethree main objectives of the Sulu Sulawesi SeasEcoregion Conservation Plan, and the BismarckSolomon Seas Ecoregion has chosen theleatherback turtle as its flagship species.

2.6 Increasing the scientific understanding of turtle populations trends, migration, genetics and value Though marine turtles havebeen studied for many years,there are still great mysteries

about their life cycles, and their value to societiesand ecosystems. WWF is involved in research all over the world to advance knowledge of these mysterious animals so as to inform critical conservation efforts.

Indo-Pacific

Papua, Indonesia — tagging and genetic studies of the last large leatherback nesting population in the Pacific

The north Vogelkop coast (Birdhead Peninsula) ofPapua is one of the world’s major nesting areas

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for the leatherback turtle. With drastic declines ofnesting populations in Malaysia and recently inMexico, Papua supports possibly the last largenesting aggregation of the leatherback turtle inthe Pacific Ocean.WWF has been involved, inclose collaboration with the local community,with on-site management activities at nestinghabitats of leatherback turtles in a 20 km stretchof Jamursba Medi beach for almost a decade.Theglobal importance of this nesting beach andWWF’s continued advocacy for adequate site protection, has resulted in the local governmentgazetting the beach as a protected area. Despitethis long involvement in turtle conservation andthis recent protection, nesting trends have shownno noticeable increase in numbers over this period. Ongoing work must look beyond the nesting beaches at the other threats these turtlesencounter. One of the main threats toleatherbacks at sea is their incidental capture infisheries gear, such as long-lines and gill nets.Genetic analysis of leatherbacks encountered off California and in the Hawaii-based longlinefisheries, has shown that they originate from thewestern Pacific, most likely from nesting beacheson Papua, Indonesia.

WWF is working with NOAA to track the movements of female leatherbacks after theydepart from their nesting beaches in Papua,and to study the population genetics of theIndonesian nesting population. One of the keyaspects of this research is the full involvementand cooperation of local people and monitoringteams.The scientific methodology used is carefully designed to respect local traditionalbeliefs and practices. In addition,WWF is workingwith other partners to build the capacity withinIndonesian institutions to analyse the scientificdata.WWF and its partners will use the results of this international collaboration and research to initiate and promote multilateral managementactions that are necessary to conserve this large nesting population.WWF field work is alsocurrently expanding to Warmon beach, 35 kmeast of Jamursba Medi, an area that hosts nestingleatherbacks in a different season.This differencein the nesting season may imply that different foraging habitats are being using by the population at Warmon. Community based patrolsand monitoring started in the 2003 nesting season and the same scientific research initiativesas at Jamursba Medi will be pursued in the future.

New Caledonia – tagging and monitoring of green and loggerhead turtles

WWF conducted a green turtle tagging programme on the Entrecasteaux Reefs of NewCaledonia in 2002. New nesting sites were located and 232 green turtles were tagged.Approximately 1,500 green turtle females and afew hundred loggerhead females were estimatedfrom the monitoring of nesting sites. Knowledgeof the loggerhead populations in southern NewCaledonia has been identified as a major information gap in the management and conservation of Pacific populations of loggerheads — which are possibly down to asfew as 2,000 nesting females.To accompany thistagging effort, educational materials for local communities were produced, and WWF is working with various provinces to improve theconservation legislation aimed at protectingendangered species such as marine turtles.

Arafura Seas — green and olive ridley turtle tracking

The movements of olive ridley turtles which neston the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin,Australia, arelargely unknown.WWF is currently launching atracking study of these turtles which will revealmigration patterns between nesting and foraginggrounds, and details about currently unknown foraging areas and foraging behaviour. Othertracking studies will investigate the post-nestingmovements of green turtles in the southern Gulfof Carpentaria and will build on previous telemetry studies.

Papua New Guinea — national population survey of leatherbacks

Few quantitative data are available about important marine turtle habitats in PNG.As aresult,WWF and other partner organisations are currently investigating the potential of establishing a marine turtle monitoring programme that will provide valuable data as wellas involve local communities. It is anticipatedthat the data generated from these surveys will become the baseline upon which nationalpolicies for the conservation and protection ofmarine turtles will be formulated.As a first step in this programme, a national population surveyof leatherbacks in collaboration with the PNGgovernment and the Village Development Trust (a national community conservation organisation)

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is planned for the next nesting season.The surveyaims to identify population distribution and theimpacts of coastal development on leatherbackfeeding and breeding grounds.

West Indian Ocean

South Africa – 30 years of monitoring ofleatherbacks and loggerheads

Not all turtle populations are in decline — rigorous protection can, and does work.WWF has been involved in one such instance in South Africa for more than three decades.The loggerhead and leatherback turtles of theTongaland beaches of KwaZulu-Natal, SouthAfrica, have been the subject of a monitoring and patrol programme, led by KZN Wildlife andsupported by WWF and others, that has been running since 1969.These three decades ofstrong protection have led to increases in thesmall annual nesting population of leatherbacksmore than fourfold.This population is believed tobe representative of a larger nesting population inMozambique and turtles nesting here are knownto forage in the waters between Mozambique andMadagascar.This makes the importance of marineprotected areas such as the recently extendedBazaruto National Park and newly createdQuirimbas National Park in Mozambique extremely important for protecting developmental and feeding grounds of these turtles.The global importance of these parks wascelebrated by WWF as a Gift to the Earth in 2001.


Research and conservation efforts for marine turtles of the Atlantic coast of Africa have beenhampered by financial, political and logistical difficulties over the last few decades.Althoughspecies status and population trends are stilllargely unknown, the research that has been donereveals that the region is important for marineturtles. In the past few years marine turtle workalong the Atlantic coast of Africa has gainedmomentum, and WWF has played a key role inseveral countries.

Guinea Bissau – training for green turtle tagging

Satellite telemetry studies in Guinea Bissau withthe support of the International Foundation forthe Banc D’Arguin (FIBA), indicate that green turtles move between nesting areas in Guinea

Bissau and feeding grounds in The Banc D’ArguinNational Park in Mauritania.This important nesting and feeding ground for green and loggerhead turtles has been supported by WWFsince 1976.A regular tagging programme is nowneeded to build on these initial telemetry studiesand clarify the movement of these turtles.As afirst measure towards this,WWF and partners willconduct a training workshop on turtle taggingand census techniques at the beginning of the2004 nesting season.

Gabon – Congo beaches – leatherback monitoring and tagging

Beaches situated between Mayumba (Gabon) andthe Noumbi River in the Democratic Republic ofCongo represent some of the most importantnesting sites for the leatherback turtle in theworld. IUCN has proposed a trans-border marinereserve between the two countries to include allof the most significant nesting sites. Until recentlyhowever, none of the beaches in the protectedareas of Gabon had been monitored consistentlyduring the nesting season.WWF, together with a suite of local project partners under the coordination of the regional marine turtle organisation, Kudu, made the first estimate ofnesting turtles near the city of Gamba in the2002-2003 season. Important baseline data on thenumber of leatherbacks and olive ridleys whichcame ashore to nest, was collected in this season,and will form the basis for repeat monitoring andtagging programmes in the future.The projectpartners also undertook environmental education activities, aimed at increasing the awareness ofthe endangered status of the turtles, and initial conservation measures to protect them.


Cuba — protection, monitoring and geneticsWWF is active in marine turtle conservation inCuba on a number of fronts.WWF has supportedhabitat protection in a key marine protected area,Jardines de la Reina, and supported enforcementaction to aid in the decommissioning of the turtlenets within the park.WWF supported the marineturtle tagging program of the Centre for FisheriesResearch (CIP) under the Ministry of Fisheries,and is currently involved in the monitoring of turtles nests at Guanahacabibes in conjunctionwith the Centre for Marine Research (CIM), adepartment of the University of La Habana.


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Current research into the genetics of hawksbillsin Cuban waters is ongoing with CIM. SouthernCuba is probably the most important feedingground, while the northern Yucatan coast ofMexico is likely to be a major nesting area.Previous genetic studies of mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA) taken from hawksbills nesting on beaches in seven Caribbean countries (Belize,Mexico, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands,Antigua,Barbados, and Brazil) have shown that at least six of these colonies are isolated breeding populations.The studies have also shown that foraging populations are drawn from many different nesting colonies. The significance of isolated breeding colonies in the Caribbean isthat a depleted population will not be replen-ished by immigration from elsewhere. Extirpationof any population will result in irreversible loss of genetic diversity.

Advancing marine turtle science throughGeographic Information System data analysis

WWF’s Conservation Science Programme,based within WWF-US, is working with the IATTCscience staff to develop better GIS-based tools formitigating bycatch in the Eastern Pacific and WestAtlantic tuna fisheries.This involves overlayingdata sets on turtle sitings/migrations, fishingeffort, and environmental conditions in order toidentify areas that should be prioritized for timeand area closures or targeted bycatch reductionefforts. Some of the first maps from this workwere displayed at the 2004 IATTC bycatch meeting in Japan. GIS is also being used in theproduction of maps of globally, regionally andlocally significant threatened species, habitats andthreats with the ecoregional planning processes.

Worldwide

Money talks ... a global study of the economic value of marine turtles

How much is a marine turtle worth? Shouldsparse government funds be invested to enforcelegislation that restricts the use of endangeredspecies? For thousands of years, marine turtleshave been a source of food and sustenance forcoastal communities in tropical and subtropicalregions. Marine turtles can be killed for meat,eggs, shell and other products but alive, they canalso be used as a tourism attraction.Consequently, when marine turtle populationsdecline, they have less potential to generate

jobs and income for coastal dwellers, and to contribute to gross revenues.Threats to marineturtle survival must be reduced to avoid negativeeconomic consequences.

A global assessment of marine turtle values byWWF in 2004 found that marine turtles are definitely worth more alive than dead.The majority of consumptive uses has a negativeeffect on marine turtle population trends and can affect marine turtle values at other locations.Non-consumptive tourism use of marine turtlesgenerates greater gross revenue than consumptiveuse of marine turtles for shell, meat, eggs andother products. Non-consumptive use also has thepotential to create more jobs than consumptiveuse. Future human generations, particularly people living in developing countries, stand tolose most from continued marine turtle decline.

The economic benefits from non-consumptiveuse have to reach stakeholder groups involved in consumptive use, in order to create local incentives in favor of conservation. Governmentsand NGOs can create local incentives to discourage consumptive use, by employing former turtle users in conservation efforts,eliminating perverse subsidies that maintain current threat levels, and promoting profitable,non-consumptive use of marine turtles.

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WWF has active projects or supports local partners in marine turtle conservation in the following countries:

countries with active marine turtle projects WWF or WWF sponsored (N=44)

marine eco-regions with active WWF marine turtle projects

countries with habitats where marine turtles occur

AngolaAustraliaBrazilCape VerdeColombiaCook IslandsCosta RicaCubaDemocratic Republic ofCongo

EcuadorFijiFrench GuianaGabonGreeceGuineaGuinea BissauGuyanaIndiaIndonesia

ItalyKenyaMadagascar MalaysiaMauritaniaMexicoMozambiqueNamibiaNew CaledoniaPanama

Papua New GuineaPeruSamoaSenegalSolomon IslandsSouth AfricaSpainSurinameThe GambiaThe Philippines

Turkey UruguayUnited Republic ofTanzania (Tanzania and Zanzibar)VanuatuViet Nam

Map by A. Abreu Grobois, UNAM

3. GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE OF WORK


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Information sources

Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpecies of Wild Fauna and Flora. www.cites.org

Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals.www.unep-wcmc.org/cms

Data sheets prepared by World ConservationMonitoring Centre and WWF International, 2001.

Angela Formia, Manjula Tiwari, Jacques Fretey &Alexis Billes. 2003. Sea Turtle Conservation alongthe Atlantic Coast of Africa, Marine TurtleNewsletter 100:33-37.

Elizabeth H. Fleming, 2001. Swimming againstthe Tide – Recent Surveys of Exploitation, Trade,and Management of Marine Turtles in theNorthern Caribbean. A TRAFFIC North AmericaReport.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.www.gbrmpa.gov.au

Elizabeth Kemf, Brian Groombridge,AlbertoAbreu & Alison Wilson, 2000. Marine Turtles in theWild — A WWF Species Status Report.WWF,Gland, Switzerland.

IUCN 2003. 2003 IUCN Red List of ThreatenedSpecies. www.redlist.org.

Inter-American Convention for the Protection andConservation of Marine turtles.www.sinac.go.cr/otros/coptortuga/

Marine Turtles — Global Voyagers threatenedwith extinction. 2003.WWF International SpeciesProgramme (see www.panda.org )

Memorandum of Understanding on theConservation and Management of Marine Turtlesand their Habitats in the Indian Ocean and SouthEast Asia (IOSEA). www.ioseaturtles.org

National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.www.noaa.gov

South Pacific Regional Environment Programme.www.sprep.org.ws

Turtle Island Heritage Protected Area.www.arbec.com.my/sea-turtles/tihpa1.php

Peter Paul van Dijk, Chris R. Shepherd, 2004.Shelled out? A snapshot of bekko trade in selected locations in South-east Asia,2001/2002. A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report.

WWF network of marine turtle conservationists.

WWF. www.panda.org and respective national orregional WWF websites.

© 1986, WWF – known internationally as the World WideFund for Nature, ® Registered Trademark owner.

Conserving Marine Turtles on a Global Scale

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