World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

INDONESIAP. Pesambung, and perhaps 3000 riasts are laid annually on the remainingislands in the group.There is no formal tender system operating for egg collection, butcollectors visit nesting beaches during the season whenever nesting numbersmake a visit worthwhile; eggs are consumed or sold in coastal villages or onBelitung itself, although prices seem to be very low and demand notintense. Schulz (1987) formed the impression that significant numbers ofHawksbill nests, particularly on the more remote islands, are leftundisturbed. The area is hunted by Buginese fishermen who collect turtlesfor trade in Bali (Schulz, 1987); and the Momperang Islanders complain aboutfrequent raids made by armed fishermen from Jakarta, who kill nestingturtles and dynamite reefs.South-westSulawesiHawksbill-rearing operations exist on three of the numerous islands west ofUjung Pandang, apparently using eggs or hatchlings obtained from nestingbeaches on islands south and south-east of Sulawesi (Schulz, 1984). Schulzwas able to visit one such source-island, P. Panambungan, where nesting isreportedly sparse some 40 nests annually. No information is available onconditions on the majority of islands in this region.North-east Kalimantan: the Berau Turtle IslandsSignificant numbers of E. imbricata occur in north-east Kalimantan, judgingby Schulz' s (1984) estimate that more then 2000 are harvested annually inthe area. Although vast areas of coral reef exist, nesting appears to berather sparse; Schulz (1987) suggests around 50 nests annually. The harvestmay thus be directed primarily at foraging turtles, whose nesting grouds areas yet unreported.Trends in nesting numbers As noted above, estimates of the E. imbricatanesting population in Indonesia are less reliable than for C. mydas ; nor areany long-term data on nesting numbers available. In these circumstances,although a decline in numbers is suspected (Schulz, 1984; Polunin andNuitja, 1982), evidence is insufficient to substantiate this in detail.According to Schulz (1984) turtle traders did admit to a sharp decline inthe availability of heavy tortoiseshell scutes, and of the highlysought-after "blonde" shell, both of which were obtained mainly in watersaround Irian Jaya. According to Compost (1980), Hawksbill populations inthe Kai and Aru Island groups have decreased rapidly owing to hunting fortortoiseshell. No comparative nesting data are available and this report isbased on information from fishermen and traders, who stated that shells fromadult animals have become rare and most Hawksbill caught are juveniles (inthis context "juvenile" may refer to non-adult turtles in general).Nesting season Most E. imbricata nesting at Sambas-Paloh (north-westKalimantan) appears to be in January-June (although some of this nesting isby Olive Ridley Lepidochelys olivacea ) , most nesting in the South NatunaIslands is in March-May, and in the Belitung area in February-June (Schulz,1987).Foraging sites Suitable foraging grounds, notably coral reefs shallows,are widespread in Indonesia. Fringing reefs form an almost continuous stripalong the clear-water coasts of Sulawesi, the Moluccas, Irian Jaya, theLesser Sundas , Bali, Mentawai, Belitung, Lingga, and the Riau Islands; thereare also patch reefs, notably in the Seribu and Spermonde groups, and off254