Chapter I Intro & Objectives - SPREP

PHOENIX ISLANDS PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN
Chapter III. Background, 4. Marine Resources
Draft 1 March 2007
according to Dickson 1939). The following year when the Peacock and Flying-Fish visited
Orona (Hull), the Tahitians that were catching turtles had left (Wilkes 1845b).
Bryan (1941 and 1942) reported that turtles used to be caught frequently on Orona (Hull).
Turtle were abundant (Hydrographer of the Navy 1969).
Balazs (1975) did not visit Orona (Hull), but reported nesting on the western and southern
coast throughout the year. These turtle populations were probably heavily exploited during
the recent settlement of this island.
Garnett (1983) reported that green turtles, Chelonia mydas, were known to breed on Orona
(Hull). At one time green turtles were numerous. There was no recent information on the
size of the breeding population.
In 1995, a male and female turtle were caught in a channel from the lagoon to the sea
(Government of Kiribati 1995).
In January 2000, no turtle tracks or nests were observed on Orona (Kepler 2000).
In 2000, a small portion of the beach on Orona was surveyed (Stone et al 2001). Twelve
probable green turtle nests were identified. During dive surveys, 13 green turtles were
observed.
Tioti et al (2001) reported the location of turtle nesting areas on Orona (Figure III-4.7 below).
However there was no discussion in this report regarding how the turtle nesting beaches were
determined.
Figure III-4.7. Turtle nesting beaches on Orona
(source: Tioti et al 2001).
Neilson (2002) reported that the first attempt at seaweed culture on Orona in 2000 failed
because of overgrazing by turtles (see also Timeon 2001).
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