World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

OMANalthough the species composition is not known, most seem likely to beC. mydas .Migration A female tagged at Ras al Hadd was recovered three monthslater, 22 220 km away in Ethiopia, near the mouth of the Red Sea at Assab,Ethiopia (Ross and Barwani, 1982); others have been recovered from Ras alKhaimah in the Gulf, Somalia (Ross, 1985), PDR Yemen and UAE. (Ross, 1987).Ross ( in litt , 29 December 1986) notes that tags from two turtles tagged inOman have been recovered in the Gulf area, but raises the possibility thatthese tags may have been derived from turtles taken on the Ras al Hadd nestbeach and transported overland by fishermen. The more complete pattern ofmigratory behaviour of this population is unknown; females nesting at Ras alHadd may move eastward toward Pakistan and India or, like some PDRY turtles,south-west to the Somali coast. Similarly, turtles feeding in Oman may nestelsewhere.POPULATION : Kretmochelys imbricataNesting sites A small population nests around the southern tip of ManoahIsland (Ross, 1981). More recently, the Daymaniyat Islands have been shownto be an important nesting centre with nesting also at Bandor Jissah andother beaches, particularly Ras al Khayran, Sitat ash Shaikh and Ras AbuDaud, in the Greater Capital Area (lUCN, 1986b; Salm, 1986).Nesting numbers Around 1000 nests were estimated to be laid in theDaymaniyat Islands during spring 1986 (based on regular weekly counts)(Salm, 1986), with around 470 mainland sites in the Greater Capital Area.An estimated 250 Hawksbills nested in the Daymaniyats in 1986: this is alarge number nesting in a relatively small area and places these islandsamong the world's most important Hawksbill nest sites (Salm, 1986). Morethan 50 turtles nest at Bandar Jissah (lUCN, 1985b). The Masirah populationis estimated at 90-125 females annually (Ross and Barwani, 1982).Nesting season Hawksbills in the Greater Capital Area nest in winter,with a peak between January and April (lUCN, 1986b). Nesting on Masirahruns from January to May, with well over 50% of the annual total in March.Foraging sites Some Hawksbills are seen throughout the year aroundMasirah (Ross and Barwani, 1982), and in the Greater Capital Area, includingseas off Bandar Jissah (lUCN, 1986b). Turtles seen here outside thebreeding season may be presumed to be foraging in the area, but littlespecific information in available.THREATSRoss ( in litt. . 29 December 1986) notes that development of the airstrip atMasirah provides a backlighting problem which can disorient turtles; villagedevelopment and use of home generators at Ras al Hadd disrupts nesting onabout one-third of the beach (although large numbers still nestsuccessfully). Disturbance is also likely to affect nesting in the CapitalArea, and is affecting Hawksbills in the Daymaniyat Islands.395