World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

MOZAMBIQUESingar and Mefunvo, near Ibo, north of Porto Amelia (Hughes, 1971a). Hughes(1976) implies that nesting also occurs in the Primeiras.Nesting numbers No information is available on the nesting population;the species in general appears to be relatively common, particularly in thenorth of the country (Hughes, 1971a).Trends in nesting numbers No information is available. Hughes (1971a)stated that hunting pressure at the time of his writing was light, and waslikely to be having little negative effect on E. imbricata populations.Foraging sites No site specific information is available, but numbersappear to be concentrated over the extensive coral reef shallows in thenorth, from Angoche onward (Hughes, 1971a).EXPLOITATIONCommodity All species of turtle are exploited for meat and eggs inMozambique. The Green Turtle is by far the most eagerly sought after butthe flesh of Hawksbills is also popular. There is no record of poisoning inthe country. In the north, the entire coastal population is Moslem, and istheoretically forbidden by religious law to eat turtles; however, most ofthe fishermen questioned admitted regular contravention of this custom.Hawksbill shell is widely used to make curios for the tourist and exporttrade. Green Turtle shell is not generally used, although juveniles areoccasionally stuffed. In central Mozambique, the heart of a turtle isthought to have the ability to prolong life because of its tendency to carryon beating after the animal has been killed (Hughes, 1971a).Hunting intensity There is an extensive harvest of turtles in the calmcoral lagoons along the coast. The magnitude of the harvest of C. mydas isnot known, as nearly all are consumed locally. The export trade inHawksbill shell was thought to represent a harvest of about 200 a year, andnot, on its own, to represent a serious threat to the turtle population(Hughes, 1971a).Turtle nests are said to be collected whenever they are found by Africanwomen. On the Primeiras Islands, a major nesting site for C. mydas , thefilling of 200-litre drums with turtle eggs (see above) indicates that eggcollection is a major, if not organised, activity. Frazier (1980a) assertedthat egg exploitation was greater on the mainland than on the PrimeirasIslands. The exploitation pressure on turtles in the north of the countryis thought to be less, because the fish catch is greater there (Hughes,1971a).Hunting methods The Southern African people are not fishermen bytradition, and there is little deliberate fishing for turtles, most of thecatch being fortuitous. Killing of turtles on the nesting beaches is one ofthe major methods of capture (Hughes, 1971a).Historical trends Zanzibar has imported tortoiseshell from Mozambiquesince at least 1890, and traded regularly (about 300 kg a year) from 1920 to196A (Frazier, 1980a). There is no historical information on the levels ofsubsistence harvest.Domestic trade Most of the Green Turtles caught are consumed by thefishermen, but at Pemba (Porto Amelia) the meat is occasionally sold in the371