World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

AMERICAN SAMOAPOPULATION:Chelonia mydasNesting sites Nesting has been recorded on Swains Island and on RoseAtoll (Anon., 1979b). Johannes (1986) said that the only significant GreenTurtle nesting was Rose Atoll, with a few scattered nests in the Manu'aGroup.Nesting numbers No information is available for Swains Island. Hirth(1971) recorded finding 35 nest pits of various ages on Sand Islet and 301on Rose Islet, the two nest sites at Rose Atoll, on 7 October 1970. Hirthwas uncertain of the nesting species (no turtles nested during the night ofhis visit), but cited Sachet (1954), who in turn cited an earlier reportthat C. mydas was the most common nester. Eleven large C. mydas emerged onRose Islet on 21 November 1974; one was seen to nest (Anon., 1979b). TheRose Atoll beaches are composed of coral fragments and this renders nestingdifficult.Trends in nesting numbers A 19th century report cited by Johannes (1986)suggested that "a great number of turtles" nested on Rose Atoll, and thepopulation is now thought to be smaller.Nesting season Hirth (1971) was informed that nesting occurs inAugust-September on Rose Atoll, but significant nesting is known to takeplace in November, and C. mydas is reported to nest on Swains Island inNovember-December (Anon., 1979b).POPULATION : Eretmochelys imbrlcataNesting sites The species is said to nest at Rose Atoll (source inHirth, 1971); it is captured in the Manu'a Islands during the breedingseason, which suggests that nesting may occur, and some sparse nesting mayoccur at Tutuila (Anon., 1979b).Nesting numbers At Tutuila and Manu'a the Hawksbill is the more commonof the two turtle species recorded in American Samoa, but it is unknownwhether nesting is correspondingly higher, or whether this species is mainlyusing the area as a foraging ground.Trends in nesting numbers Fishermen in Tutuila believed that turtles haddeclined considerably in numbers in the five years prior to 1981, but it isuncertain if this refers to nesting or foraging turtles (Johannes, 1986).Nesting season No specific information; the statement reported by Hirth(1971), that turtle nesting at Rose Atoll is between August-September, mayapply to this species.Foraging sites No specific information. The species appears to occur inwaters around Tutuila and Manu'a; these may be foraging grounds.THREATSRose Atoll reportedly swarms with rats (Hirth, 1971); Polynesian rats havebeen seen to attack hatchlings on the island (Anon., 1979b).59