World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

RabesandratanaMADAGASCARdeclined through the 20th century, national production of worked shell andof stuffed juvenile turtles for sale to tourists has risen in recentdecades. Hughes (1973a: 117) suggested that either there is a balancebetween exploitation and recruitment, with overall exploitation at a similarlevel in the 1970s as in the inter-war years, or the fishery effort hasincreased. Hughes (1973a) reported that there is no evidence that fisheryeffort has in fact increased, and further, that some fishermen in thenorth-west claimed that E. imbricata numbers were increasing. Whilst thereappears to be no hard evidence for a decline in Hawksbill numbers overrecent decades, the apparent increased harvest of immature turtles may beexpected to have a long-term effect on population structure.Nesting season Vaillant and Grandidier (1910) state that sea turtlenesting in general in Madagascar occurs in September-February, particularlyin November-January, but this may well be applicable more to C. mydas thanto K. imbricata .Foraging sites Much suitable foraging habitat exists, primarily alongthe western seaboard, where coral reef development is extensive. Accordingto Vaillant and Grandidier (1910) E. imbricata abounded around the coralisles off the west and north-west coasts, where food was similarly abundant.THREATSA decline in sea turtle populations evident, according to Petit (1930), inthe inter-war years, was due to intensive harvest of adults (for food, oil,and tortoiseshell) and eggs. Exploitation appears to remain relativelyintense today, and may constitute a threat to populations. However, Hughes(1975) believes that C. mydas , at least, may be little-affected, since theharvest is mostly of foraging animals not solely of nesting females.EXPLOITATIONCommodity Sea turtles and their eggs are exploited extensively aroundthe coasts of Madagascar. The main species for human consumption areC. mydas and C. caretta . E. imbricata has been the victim of a long-termfishery for shell. Its meat is usually discarded, although it may be eatenby the very poorest people. There are no documented incidents of poisoning,but a law prohibiting the sale of Hawksbill meat was passed in 1884,apparently as a result of numerous poisonings on the island (Hughes,1973a). Decary (1950) reported that there was much superstition surroundingthe capture and eating of turtles, and that women were formerly not allowedto eat the meat, although this practice had been abandoned. The oil wassaid to be used as a cure for phagedenic ulcers (Decary, 1950).Hunting intensity Hunting is most intense around the south-west of theisland. Estimates of the harvest were made by Hughes, and the data weresubsequently re analysed by Frazier (1980). These are presented inTable 112. Harvests of C. caretta and L. olivacea were estimated to be 2014and 2400 respectively, with a combined weight of 289 300 kg; thus 72% of theedible turtle meat harvested (i.e. excluding E. imbricata ) is derived fromC. mydas . (1985) reported that the annual consumption ofturtle meat in Morombe, a district on the west coast, was about 2.5 tbetween 1979 and 1984, with a peak of 5.3 t in 1983. Eggs are muchrelished, but the intensity of collection is not known. Rakotonirina (pers.comm. to Bonnet, cited in litt . , 22 April 1987) reported that about twoC. mydas were landed weekly at Toliara and one daily at Itampola.302