World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

YEMEN, PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICon just about any night in November. Taking the lower of these figures,this means a possible total of around 140 per night on Shuhair, 45 per nighton Sharma, and 120 on Ithmun, or over 300 a night in all. There may havebeen a further 25 a night on Shihr and Musa beaches. Evidence suggests thatthis population nests between September and the first week in December; ifnesting occurs at maximum density throughout November, and at half that ratefor a further 30 days, there may have been some 18 000 nests in all, laid byperhaps 6 000 females (if each nests three times). No information isavailable, however, on the proportion of beach emergences that result innesting taking place.A smaller contingent, evidently separate from the population nesting inNovember, nests in January-March. Based on Sharma beach data, where thereare 15-20 turtles nightly in January instead of the 50 nightly in November,this population may be about one third as large.Ross and Barwani (1982) assessed Hirth's data in the light of nestingparameters of the Ras al Had C . mydas population In Oman, and estimated thatsome 10 000 females nested annually in PDRY.Trends in nesting numbers No information Is available to compare withthe survey data collected by Hlrth (1968) during the 1966-1967 north-eastmonsoon period, and by Hlrth and Holllngworth (1973) during the 1972south-west monsoon period. Therefore no trends in nesting numbers can bedl St Ingui shedNesting season It appears that year-round nesting occurs on at leastSharma beach (Hlrth and Holllngworth, 1973), and this may apply to theentire coast. Different populations may be nesting at different times ofyear. The population found nesting In November, and Inferred to nestbetween early September and the first week In December (I.e. around thestart of the north-east monsoon, November- February ) ,Is thought to beseparate from that nesting in January-March; and nesting recorded In July(within the south-west monsoon, April-September) may represent a furtherdiscrete nesting contingent.Foraging sites The major feeding ground for Green Turtles is in thevicinity of Khor Umalra, some 80 km west of Aden. Seagrass pasture,composed primarily of Posldonla oceanlca and Halodule uninervls ,extendsalong the coast in this vicinity, but Is concentrated In the Bay of KhorUmalra. The Bay, elliptical in plan and about 6 x 3 km in maximum extent.Is almost completely landlocked by a long narrow sandsplt. Maximum depth isabout 10.5 m. Dugongs Dugong dugon have been seen feeding with turtlesalong the coast. Minor seagrass pastures exist between Ras Imran and JabalAziz (between Khor Umalra and Aden) and at Little Aden (Hlrth, 1968).Migration Hlrth (1968) tagged 232 Green Turtles In 1966, all but ten ofthese on Musa and Sharma beaches, east of Mukalla. Of these, five have beenrecovered: one tagged on 17 November on Musa was recaptured on feedinggrounds at Khor Umalra 39 days later on 26 December. The straight linedistance between contacts Is about 458 km. Indicating a minimum speed ofnearly 12 km a day. The remaining four turtles were recaptured off the eastcoast of Somalia; one at Chismayo In southern Somalia, two just north ofMogadiscio and two at Hordlo just south of Cape Gardafui (the tip of theHorn of Africa). The timing of recaptures suggests that the turtles weretravelling as part of a group (Hlrth and Carr, 1970).565