World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

COSTA RICACOSTA RICA:PACIFICPOPULATION:Chelonia mydasNesting sites Few details are available for the Pacific coast; C. mydasis said to be locally conmon, although the extent of nesting is unclear(Cornelius, 1981). Green Turtles definitely nest at Playa Naranjo and PlayaNancite in Santa Rosa National Park in the Gulf of Papagayo (Cornelius,1986) and are reported to nest in Corcovado National Park on the Peninsulade Osa (lUCN, 1982)Nesting numbers On the Pacific coast, C. mydas is said to nest in"moderate numbers" at Playa Naranjo and infrequently at Playa Nancite inSanta Rosa National Park. (Cornelius, 1986). No information is available forother nesting sites.Foraging sites There are reportedly no large areas of seagrass off thePacific coast and it is unlikely that there are any large scale feedinggrounds; Cornelius (1981), however, has suggested, on the basis of thediscovery of numerous moribund sub-adults on the north-west coast ofGuanacaste in 1972, that C. mydas may be resident in Pacific Costa Ricanwaters, or alternatively that juveniles participate in seasonal movements.Migration There are few data for the Pacific coast, although threeturtles tagged in GalApagos and one at Michoacan (see GAiAPAGOS and PACIFICMEXICO accounts) have been recovered in Costa Rican waters.POPULATION : Kretmochelys imbricataNesting sites The species is known to nest, although is evidentlyunconunon (Cornelius, 1981 and 1986). It is reported to nest in CorcovadoNational Park on the Peninsula de Osa, in Manuel Antonio National Park inPuntarenas Province and perhaps in Santa Rosa National Park in Guanacaste(lUCN, 1982; Boza and Mendonza, 1981).Foraging sites Along the Pacific coast, Hawksbills are reportedly mostoften seen around the rocky outcrops that characterise the Guanacastecoastline; immatures are reportedly much commoner than adults and in generalthe species is more frequently recorded in the sea than nesting (Cornelius,1986).THREATSCornelius (1981) noted that on the Pacific coast large numbers of turtleswere caught by shrimp trawlers, especially along the coast of GuanacasteProvince. Islas Negritos, Punta Guiones, Cabo Velas and the Gulf ofPapagayo were cited by shrimpers as areas with high incidental catch rates;Cornelius also thought it likely that turtles were taken in the other majorshrimping grounds in Colorados Bay and the Ducle Gulf. He reported thatestimates of catch rates differed, most ranging from 600 to 2000 annually bythe fleet of 61 trawlers, although some estimated over 200 juveniles andadults taken daily in late spring and early summer; most were OliveRidleys. Those that arrived on deck alive and some of the dead werereturned to the sea. Cornelius noted that this was a probable explanationof the relatively large number of carcasses observed on Costa Rican beaches(see above)151