World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA(1978, cited in Meylan, 1983) noted a decline in the number of sea turtles,particularly Hawksbills, nesting on Antigua.Nesting season Joseph et al (198A) reported nesting June-October onAntigua and May-November on Barbuda.Foraging sites According to Joseph et al (198A), foraging occurred yearround on the continental shelf around Antigua and Barbuda. Meylan (1983)considered Hawksbills to be common in foraging habitats all around Barbudaand reported their presence in feeding sites on the western and southerncoasts of Antigua at Hawksbill Bay, Pinchin Bay, Dark Wood, Urlings andMount Carmel.EXPLOITATIONCommodity Income was derived from the sale of meat, carapace, raw shell,worked tortoiseshell, and live turtles; juvenile turtles being kept forlocal consumption (Meylan, 1983).Hunting intensity Joseph et al (1984) reported estimated landings in1982 of 150 Green Turtles and 250 Hawksbills, and estimated the annual catchfor subsistence use to be 20 turtles at sea, 30 turtles while nesting, and2500 eggs.Meylan (1983) discussed the intensity of hunting on Antigua. There wereapproximately 12 fishermen on Antigua who still set nets for turtles. In1980, a turtle fisherman at Urlings reported catching an average of 24turtles per year, most of which were Green Turtles. A fisherman atWillikies reported catching 50 turtles in 1978, and a total of 20 (16 GreenTurtles, 4 Hawksbills) between October 1979 and late April 1980.According to Cato et al. (1978, cited in Meylan, 1983), a resident whocoordinated the export business on Barbuda estimated that "several hundred"turtles were exported annually. Meylan (1983) considered that heavyexploitation had continued and had possibly increased since then.Hunting methods According to Meylan (1983) there were approximately12 fishermen on Antigua still setting turtle nets; though turtles were beingincreasingly caught by spearf ishermen and were also taken on nesting beacheswhenever they were encountered. On Barbuda, Meylan (1983) reported thecapture of turtles by both lobster divers and net fishermen, with a singlefisherman capable of setting as many as 11 nets. Turtles were also chasedwith outboard-powered boats and captured by hand, and small turtles weretaken incidentally in trammel nets. Turtles and their eggs were routinelytaken at nesting beaches and surveillance for tracks were carried out byboat, incidental to other fishing activities.Historical trends Meylan (1983) reported the practice of setting netsfor turtles on Antigua apparently to have been more common in the past.Rebel (1974, cited in Meylan, 1983) gave the annual catch on Antigua for theperiod 1943-1948 as 67 turtles (range 40-116) and, in addition, noted adecline in the number of turtles caught in Antigua. Meylan (1983) alsonoted that residents of Five Islands Village used to hunt for turtlesregularly on the beach but rarely did so now, presumably because so fewturtles emerged.67