World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIAwere reported to nest in April-October 1985 (Herring, 1986). Turtles (bothspecies) used to nest on Ngatik., but had not done so for the past few years(Herring, 1986). This decline is attributed to human population increaseand increased hunting for turtles; to the extent that these factors operateelsewhere, similar declines would be expected to have occurred.Nesting season The main nesting period is reportedly from May toSeptember (Herring, 1986).Foraging sites Suitable feeding grounds would appear to be widespread,but mainly occurring on high volcanic islands in the Caroline group, whereturtles, both mature and immature, are seen. Atolls are generally withoutThalassia or other seagrass, and only mature turtles are found there(M. McCoy in litt. , 24 August 1988).Migration There has only been one tag return to date from several dozenturtles tagged over the last ten years. A mature C. mydas , tagged at Orolukin 1985, was returned from Taiwan in the South China Sea in early 1987(M. McCoy in litt. . 24 August 1988).POPULATION : Eretmochelya imbricataNesting sites Few details are available of nesting sites or numbers.Herring (1986) reports nesting on Orolult (formerly), Ngatik (formerly),Nukuoto, Kapingimarangi , Mokil, Pingelap, and possibly Kosrae. Pritchard(1982b) reported that this species nests on a number of barrier islands onthe reef of Truk Lagoon (Holap, Tora, Ruac, Lap, Ushi, Onao, Tonelik, Pis,Alanenkobwe, Lemoil and Falalu) and on uninhabited islands in the LowerMortlock group (the atolls of Etal, Lukunor, Satawan).Nesting numbers Few details are available. The species appearsgenerally to be less common than C. mydas (Pritchard, 1982b), and it may beinferred that nesting numbers are correspondingly lower. Pritchard wasinformed (1982b) that one or two might nest nightly on each beach in theTruk Lagoon area (in May-October), and that nesting was "casual" in theLower Mortlocks. McCoy (1974) reported that Hawksbills "are extremely rarethroughout the area". He was referring to Satawal in particular and,apparently, the central Carolines in general. No evidence was found ofnesting on Satawal; only four were seen around Satawal in 1972, two of whichwere taken (McCoy, 1974). Informants of Herring (1986) reported that aboutten females nest on Rugureru Island of Kapingimarangi Atoll, that "many"turtles ( C. mydas and E. imbricata ) nest on Mokil, and about 30 nests aremade annually on Nikuoro (both species), although this is thought to beunlikely (M. McCoy in litt. , 24 August 1988).Trends in nesting numbers Information is sparse; Herring (1986) citestwo atolls, Oroluk and Ngatik, where nesting formerly occurred (apparentlyin large numbers at Oroluk), and that turtles (probably this species) nolonger nest on Hare Island in Kapingimarangi Atoll, due to an increase inthe human population. According to Niering (1963, cited in Johannes, 1986),turtles had recently become rare in the Kapingimarangi area.Nesting season According to Herring (1986) the main turtle nestingseason in the region is May-September; it is not clear to what extent thisapplies specifically to E. imbricata .183