World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

COSTA RICACOSTA RICA:CARIBBEANPOPULATION:Chelonia mydaaNesting sites By far the most important area is the 22-mile (3S-lun)beach between the mouths of the Rio Tortuguero and Rio Parismina in thenorth of the country (Carr et al . 1978; Carr et al . 1982; WATS, 1984).Some turtles are also reported to nest in the area south of this, along28 km of beach from the mouth of the Rio Parismina to the mouth of the RioMatina, although no indications of abundance are given (WATS, 1984). It isnot clear whether the species nests further south than this on the Caribbeancoast.Nesting numbers The Tortuguero colony is the largest surviving nestingpopulation in the Caribbean and has been intensively studied since 1956.Intensive study has been confined to the first four miles (6.3 km) of beach(i.e. miles 0-4); numbers of nesting females recorded along this stretch aregiven in table 45 (from Bjorndal pers . comm. , 23 April 1987). From thesefigures, and from several surveys of the whole beach during the nestingseason, estimates of the total number of females nesting along the 35 km ofbeach can be derived. Such estimates, taken from Carr et al. (1982), forthe years 1971-81 are given in Table 45; these estimates differ somewhatfrom those given in Carr et al. (1978) for 1971-76 and WATS (1984) for1977-81 and it is understood that they are subject to recalculation(Bjorndal pers. comm., 23 April 1987). They should thus only be used toprovide indications of the order of magnitude of the nesting population inany given year.Table 45. Estimates of C. mydas and E. imbricata nesting at Tortuguero.C. mydas recorded in miles 0-4 (Bjorndal pers. comm., 23 April 1987); Totalnumber of C. mydas estimated for miles 0-22 (Carr et al , 1982); number ofE. imbricata encountered in miles 0-4 (Bjorndal et al. . 1985; Bjorndalin litt. 24 July 1988).Year C. mydas mi 0-4 C . mydas mi 0-22 E. imbricata mi 0-4