World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

SURINAMEPOPULATION:Chelonia mydasNesting sites Much of the Suriname coast consists of mudflats andmangrove; sandy beaches suitable for turtle nesting extend only for some60 km (Mohadin and Reichart, 198A; Schulz, 1975). Most turtle nestingoccurs in the Galibi-Baboensant i -Eilant i area at the mouth of the MarowijneRiver (bordering French Guiana), and at Matapica-Krof ajapasi , formerly Icnownas Bigisanti (Schulz, 1982). The latter beaches used to be within the WiaWia Nature Reserve, but coastal erosion has resulted in their westwardsmigration, and they are now outside the Reserve boundary. Most C. mydasnesting takes place on beaches bordering the Marowijne delta south-east ofEilanti, some 19 km in all, being most concentrated on a 2-kin stretch knownas Baboensanti (Schulz, 1975).Nesting numbers Staff of the Suriname Forest Service and of theFoundation for Nature Preservation in Suriname (STINASU) have beensystematically collecting nesting data since 1967. Schulz synthesised agreat deal of information in his 1975 publication, from which most of thedata presented in Table 192 are taken. The mean number of nests per nighton Bigisanti, Eilanti and Baboensanti, between mid April and late June 1968was 37 (Schulz, 1975). Schulz (1975: p. 86) estimated the average annualfemale nesting population between the years 1968-1974 as 1500-2000.Trends in nesting numbers No marked change in the number of nests laidcan be discerned between 1968 and 1985. Schulz (in Bacon et al , 198A,Vol. 1: p. 198), considering the data up to 1982, suggested a recent slightupward trend in female numbers was evident; he was not aware of anyhistorical data on long-term trends in Suriname. Eggs have been harvestedfor food since at least the 19th century, but turtles were apparently nottaken for food on a large scale except for a few years prior to World WarII; the available harvest information (Schulz, 1975) could be interpreted tosuggest that nesting numbers after the War were lower than before, but thisis far from conclusive.Nesting season Nesting by C. mydas takes place between February andJuly, with a peak in April-May (Schulz, 1975).Foraging sites No seagrasses or algae, the primary diet of C. mydas ,occur off the Suriname coast; the Suriname nesting population foragesmainly, or entirely, along the coast of Brasil (Schulz, 1975). YoungC. mydas , just one or two years old, are frequently caught at the mouth ofthe Suriname River, but this age class is suspected to be omnivorous and mayfeed in the area before migrating to distant feeding grounds and shifting toa vegetarian diet (Schulz, 1975).Migration Between 1966 and 1975, 73 females tagged at Bigisanti andGalibi had been recovered in distant waters; except for one from Cayenne(French Guiana) all were recovered off the coast of Brasil, from the stateof Amapa east and south to Alagoas. Most, around 60%, were caught off thecoast of Ceara (Schulz, 1975). Turtles nesting on Ascension Island alsoforage off the Brasilian coast, mainly to the south of the Suriname nesters,although the two populations overlap along some 1200 km of coast betweenAcaraii and Haceio (Schulz, 1975).501