World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOPOPULATION:Chelonla mydasNesting sites Information is limited. Green Turtles were reported tonest on the north and east coasts of Trinidad, with specific nesting beachesbeing identified at Mayaro, Matura, Matelot and Big Bay (Bacon, 1973) andManzanilla Bay (Bacon, 1981). Nesting on Tobago was known to occur atBatteaux Bay and Grafton Estate (Bacon, 1981).Nesting numbers No numerical data are available. Pritchard (1984)stated that nesting was occasional and probably less common than that of theHawksbill. Carr et al , (1982) considered Green Turtle nesting density tobe minimal and Bacon (1981) reported nesting to be occasional on bothTrinidad and Tobago. When compared with the nesting concentrations in theGuianas (Pritchard 1969) the Trinidad and Tobago turtle populations wereconsidered to be very small, though they were thought to be larger thanthose on most Caribbean islands (Bacon, 1973).Nesting season Nesting records are sparse; in part using data fromnearby populations, Bacon (1973) estimated the nesting season of C. mydas tobe February-August.Foraging sites Pritchard (1984) considered C. mydas to be moderatelycommon in the waters of Trinidad and Tobago and Bacon (1981) reportedfrequent foraging by both adults and juveniles in the waters aroundTrinidad. Foraging in Trinidad was known to occur in the Gulf of Paria andon the north coast near Toco (Bacon, 1981), and at Grande Riviere Bay,Soldado Rock and Scotland Bay (Chu Cheong, 1984), Man o' War Bay, BuccooReef and Bon Accord Lagoon were identified as foraging sites at Tobago(Bacon, 1981).Migration There appears to be an important migratory route along thenorthern coast of Trinidad and Tobago (Carr et al , 1982). A Green Turtlethat had been tagged on the Tortuguero nesting beach (Costa Rica) was latercaptured in the Gulf of Paria on the west coast of Trinidad (Carr, et al .1982).POPULATION : Eretmochelys imbricataNesting sites Information is limited, but the species is known to neston the north and east coasts of Trinidad and also on Tobago (Bacon, 1973).Nesting on Trinidad has been reported at Mayaro, Big Bay, San Souci,Matelot, Monos Island, Huevos Island and Chacachacare Island (Bacon, 1973);Maracas, Matura, and Manzanilla (Bacon, 1981); Brigand Hill (Carr et al .1982); and Macqueripe Bay (Chu Cheong, 1984). The only nesting site so faridentified on Tobago was at Bird of Paradise Bay (Bacon, 1973).Nesting numbers Bullis (1984) inferred heavy to moderate nestingactivity but this seems unlikely as only two confirmed Hawksbill nests werereported by Chu Cheong (1984). Bacon (1981) considered Hawksbill nesting onTrinidad to be rare. Carr et al , (1982) believed nesting density to beminimal. Pritchard (1984) concluded that the species nested rarely onbeaches in eastern Trinidad, somewhat more frequently on the north coastbeaches, and regularly, though not in aggregations, on the islands of theBoca del Dragon, especially on Chacachacare Island.Nesting season Ingle and Smith (1949, cited in Bacon, 1973) gave theHawksbill nesting season as June to August in Trinidad. However, using528