World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

PAPUA NEW GUINEAinvolves many taboos (Spring, 1982b). The catching of nesting females onthe beaches is increasingly being practised, but it does not appear to havebeen a widespread traditional technique. Pritchard (1979a) described acomplex system which is used in some areas of determining, from the numbersof eggs laid, when the female will return to nest. He concluded that it hadno practical value.The modern, commercial method of fishing around Daru is with harpoons fromboats, often powered by outboard motors or inboard diesel engines. The mainvessels used are double-outrigger sailing canoes with auxiliary outboards(Prescott, 1986).Historical trends In former times, the hunting of turtles was limitedboth by the small human population and by the strong taboos and traditionssurrounding their capture. These traditions are gradually being abandoned,and the introduction of commercial sales of turtle meat in towns hasinevitably increased the hunting pressure (Spring, 1981 and 1982b). Turtlemeat is becoming a common item of diet in Daru, and the prohibition ofcommercial sale of Dugongs in 1984 intensified the hunting pressure onturtles as the fishermen switched to turtles as an alternative prey (Eley,1986). Exceptions to the generally increasing trend of turtle harvests arefound in areas where the majority of the population are Seventh DayAdventists. Here, harvests are thought to have declined over a period of30-50 years and, in some cases, stopped altogether (Spring, 1982a).In the Manus Province, Hawksbills used to be caught for the sale of theircarapace to Japanese and European tourists, but the export restrictions havemeant that it is now more difficult for the tourists to take shell out ofthe country, there is therefore less demand for shell (Spring, 1980b), andthis may have reduced the hunting pressure. Eley (1986) noted that thecarving of combs and jewellery was just beginning in Daru, although it wasnot traditional in the area.Domestic trade Turtle meat is sold in several markets and townsthroughout PNG. These include Port Moresby (Koki Market), Daru, Mandang,Bogia, Saidor, Kupiano, Lorengau, Kieta, Misima Island and Talasea(Pritchard, 1979a). One of the main markets is in Daru, where they areregularly sold, and turtle has now become an everyday food item. During asurvey from October 1984 to January 1985, the average price per turtle fellfrom KA2.60 to K28.03, with a mean of K33.90 for the four months(Kl = US$1.05). After allowing for the costs of running the boats and theaverage time needed to catch one turtle, this gave a mean profit of K63.68 aday for each boat (Prescott, 1986). Spring (1982a) said that the greaterdemand and the lesser supply of turtles at Port Moresby resulted in a higherprice than in Daru. She quoted prices for an adult female C. mydas ofUS$90-115 at Port Moresby and US$15-30 at Daru in 1979. Eaton and Sinclair(1981) found that the average price of turtles in Koki market. Port Moresby,was about K41. Liem (1976) quoted estimates of the cash value of turtlemeat and eggs consumed in New Britain in 1973/74, which valued meat at $0.50a kg and eggs at $0.02 each. Turtle meat was the same value as Dugong meat,five times the value of fish and half the value of wild pig.International trade CITES Annual Reports contain no evidence ofsubstantial trade in turtle products directly from PNG, but only sporadicexports of tourist items. These are shown in Table 156. In 1981, Italyreported exporting 54 leather items to F.R. Germany and 110 handbags toJapan made of C. mydas leather said to have originated in PNG.415