World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

AUSTRALIAthe Dampier area, as far south as South Murion Island. There are noconfirmed nesting sites off the Kimberleiy coast, but at least one female hasbeen noted nesting at the Ashmore Reef (R.I.T. Prince in litt. . 1 July1988).Nesting numbers In the Dampier Archipelago, the Hawtcsbill use the samenest beaches as the Green Turtle, but in the ratio of approximately one toevery ten Greens (Morris, 1986). Eight Hawksbills have been seen nestingtogether on Lowendal Island, and 2-A on beaches in the Dampier Archipelago.These comparative data suggest a maximum of around 100 Hawksbills nightly,which would imply a total annual nesting contingent of at least a fewhundred.Nesting season No details available, but nests at least inDecember-January (Morris, 1986).Foraging sites No details available, but tidal mangrove-lined creeks onislands and the mainland are thought to be important as refuge and feedingsites for juvenile turtles (Morris, 1986).EXPLOITATIONA commercial fishery operated along the North West Cape Peninsula until 1971(Johannes and Rimmer, 198A), but now turtle hunting is mostly restricted toaboriginal communities between Pt Hedland and Wyndham. C. mydas is the mainspecies hunted, there being reports of poisoning from the meat ofE. imbricata in north-western Australia (Kowarsky, 1982).Commodities Most turtles are hunted for meat for subsistence purposes,but in this region of Western Australia there are good supplies of otherwild products, such as game, shellfish, fish and vegetables, and so turtlesare relatively less important than in northern Queensland.Hunting methods Aluminium dinghies with outboard motors and harpoons arethe main hunting techniques.Hunting intensity Capelle (1979, cited in Kowarsky, 1982) estimated thetotal catch between Pt. Hedland and Wyndham to be 104 turtles a year. Thetotal number of Aboriginals living in coastal Local Government Areas inWestern Australia, and therefore who could legally catch turtles, was 8736in 1976, but it is unlikely that most of these would ever do so (Kowarsky,1982). The main hunting season is from mid-November to March, correspondingwith the mating season. There are reports (Anon., 1987c) that Indonesianfishermen who have permission to land on Ashmore Reef have been regularlycapturing turtles illegally. Sightings of 50-60 captured turtles awaitingtransport are reported. Incidental capture by far-seas Taiwanese andAustralian fishing fleets probably accounts for a significant number ofturtles (R.I.T. Prince in litt. . 20 August 1987).Historical trends See general comments under "Queensland"Domestic trade Commercial trade in sea turtle products is illegal inWestern Australia, but some sale of turtle shells to tourists has beenreported around the Broome area, where the numbers of visitors have beenincreasing recently (Kowarsky, 1982), although there is no evidence ofincreasing trade (R.I.T. Prince in litt . . 20 August 1987).80