World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

MARSHALL ISLANDS.REPUBLIC OFPOPULATION:Chalonia mydasNesting sites Bilcar Atoll is regarded as the most lmportan^ C. mydasnest site in the Marshalls (Pritchard, 1982b). Nesting has also beenreported on Arno , Kwajalein and Ujelang, and most of the turtle nesting onJemo, Erilcub, Taka, Enewetok, Jaluit, Bikini and Taongi (Pritchard, 1982b),is likely to be by C. mydas .Nesting numbers Very little information is available. Fosberg (1969.cited in Pritchard, 1982b) reported that well over 300 females came ashoreon Bikar during the seven nights of 5-12 August; Pritchard infers from otherinformation in Fosberg' s paper that the figure cited ("over 300"), is likelyto be a misprint for "over 30". This seems to be confirmed by the fact thatHendrickson (unpublished, cited by Pritchard, 1982b) recorded a comparabledensity; he counted tracks of 39 females made over six days. Hendricksonestimated that the Bikar breeding population included around 700 maturefemales in all (i.e. possibly some 230 annually), and concluded that thepopulation was of "only small size, not constituting an exploitable wildresource of any significant magnitude" (cited by Pritchard, 1982b). Fewdata are available for other sites, but in no case do nesting numbers appearto approach those at Bikar, which is small in world terms. Fosberg (1969.cited by Pritchard, 1982b) observed tracks on Jemo corresponding to 22turtles over several days in December 1951. Jemo was formerly regarded as abird and turtle reserve, with harvesting being allowed on only one month inthe year; on Erikub, different persons estimated 3-4 or 6-^8 turtles may nestnightly (sources cited in Pritchard, 1982b).Trends in nesting numbers Both Pritchard (1977) and Johannes (1987).referring to Micronesia in general, state that turtle populations appear tohave declined, perhaps slowly and over several centuries (Pritchard. 1977);no detailed information relating specifically to the Marshall Islands isavailableNesting seasons Nesting on Bikar appears to reach a peak in June-July(Pritchard, 1982b).Foraging sites Little specific information Is available, althoughinformants of Pritchard (1982b) reported that Ebon is rich in resourcesgenerally, and is the best area for catching turtles in the water.POPULATION: Eretmochelys imbricataWhilst this species is said to be the second most abundant turtle inMicronesia generally, very little information is available for the MarshallIslands. Only one of 35 sets of tracks recorded by Hendrickson on Bikar wasattributed to E. imbricata (cited by Pritchard, 1982b).HCPLOITATIONComnodity Turtle eggs are collected on many of the islands, and C. mydasis caught for meat. There are a few references to the use of E. imbricatashell for ornaments (Johannes. 1986).333