World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

FRENCH GUIANAPOPULATION:Chelonla mydasNesting sites Much of the 450-kin coastline is lined by mangrovevegetation, beaches suitable for turtle nesting comprising some 20-30 km inall; C. mydas nesting has been recorded at Organabo (3.5 km), Farez (4 km)and Pointe Isere (4 km), with sparse nesting also at Azteque, Awara-BoisTombe, Kawana and Les Hattes (Fretey, 198Aa, 1987 and in litt. . 1 September1982). The C. mydas nesting in French Guiana probably belong to thepopulation nesting in Suriname.Nesting numbers Fretey (1984a) estimated the numbers of females nestingin the whole of French Guiana in 1977, 1978 and 1979 respectively were 120,83 and 112. He put the numbers of females using the beaches at PointeIsere, Farez and Forganabo at around 100; beaches at Les Hattes and Kawanaare little-frequented. Available nesting data are summarised in Table 65.Table 65. C. mydas nesting data for French Guiana beaches (data fromFretey, 1984a).Beach Nests per nightaverage maximumNests per seasonFarezPointe IsereKawanaAwaraLes Hattes1281.51.551615571848030072100Nesting season C. mydas nesting has been recorded from April to July,with a peak at the end of May (Fretey, 1987).Foraging «it«8 No direct information; but c. mydas nesting in FrenchGuiana are likely to migrate, as do many of the Suriname nesters, toforaging grounds off the coast of Brasil (Fretey, 1987).Migration See previous paragraph.POPULATION: Eretmochelys imbricataThe species appears to be very rare in French Guiana; none was seen on thenesting beaches in 1977-1979 (Fretey and Lescure, 1979), until a single nestwas found at Apotili in 1986 and two in 1987 (Fretey, 1987). Pritchard(Pritchard and Trebbau, 1984) found that between one and five E. imbricatanested per season in the late 1960s and early 1970s.Fretey and Lescure (1979) suggest it is not impossible that E. imbricatapreviously nested in the country but was extirpated by over-exploitation.THREATSSome of the French Guiana beaches are much frequented by tourists, with muchdisturbance of nesting turtles at night. Many early nests are excavated by192