World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

PAPUA NEW GUINEAfrom West Sepik. Province, Nanus Province, and Hadang Province in PNG)(Spring, 1983).POPULATION : Eretmochelys imbricataNesting sites The species is almost as widespread as C. mydas . andappears to nest in the same areas in lower densities (Spring, 1982a).Nesting is k.nown at several points around the mainland, both the Gulf andnorthern coasts, and is widespread in the islands, notably on Nanus andsmaller islands in Nanus Province, and Kiriwina and nearby islands in theTrobriand group.Nesting numbers No quantitative data are available. The species, whilegenerally less abundant than C. mydas . is reportedly more so on Lou Island(Nanus Province) and Kairuru (East Sepik Province), and of equal abundancein the Woodlark Islands (Spring, 1982a). The only more detailed informationconcerns Long Island (Nadang Province) , where "very few" females were seento nest during a 12-month survey and only one was tagged. The species issaid to "nest in numbers" on Raboin, off the tip of Cape Wom, East SepikProvince (Spring, 1982a).Trends in nesting numbers Turtles in general are reportedly declining innumbers in PNG wherever they are hunted (Spring, 1982b), or are suspected tobe declining (Pritchard, 1979a); Hawksbills are hunted, apparently mainlyfor food and for tortoiseshell , and presumably would be subject to thisdecline. There are no data available to substantiate this reported trend.Nesting season On Long Island, local villagers reported thatE. imbricata nesting occurs throughout the year, although it was observedonly in Nay-July (Spring, 1983); nesting is said to be between Nay andSeptember in East Sepik Province, Narch-April in the Trobriands, andJune-August in Nanus Province (Spring, 1982a).Foraging sites Suitable foraging areas, with coral reef zones, appear tobe widespread in the country, and Hawksbills are to be found whereverwell-developed coral reefs are present (Pritchard, 1979a); no informationis at hand on particularly favoured sites.Migration Little information is available. One female tagged onKerehikapa (Solomon Is.) on 5 December 1976 was slaughtered 1400 km distantat Fisherman's Island, Central Province, PNG in February 1979 (Vaughan andSpring, 1980). Thus some Hawksbills in PNG waters may breed elsewhere.EXPLOITATIONCommodity Sea turtles are widely exploited in Papua New Guinea for meatand eggs. All species are eaten to some extent, but C. mydas is the mostpopular; E. imbricata . though eaten less often, is also widely consumed;however there are a few recorded cases of poisoning. The shell is used forcarving traditional ornaments and various household items. The raw shell isnot commonly traded although traditional tortoiseshell ornaments are used intraditional exchanges and may be passed on as heirlooms. In some areasthere was a tradition that turtle blood had a tonic effect, improvingstamina and diving ability. Several islands have been converted to theSeventh Day Adventist faith and, on these, turtles are not generally eaten(Spring, 1982b).413