Marine Turtle Conservation Moves

Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008
From: UNEP Asia Pacific Regional News
<unepasiapacificregionalnews@un.org>

Marine Turtle Conservation Moves into High Gear
Coastal development and harmful fishing activities under the
spotlight

UNEP ROAP News Release : Bali/Bangkok, August 20, 2008 -
An innovative regional agreement is beginning to turn the tide for
the ‘ancient mariners’ of the world's oceans.

Marine turtles traverse the seas for thousands of kilometers,
returning after decades to nest in the same area where they entered
the world as tiny hatchlings. They are threatened by degradation of
critical habitats on land, interaction with fishing gear at sea, and
excessive harvesting of eggs and for meat.

A new report prepared for the meeting of 27 signatories to a region-
wide turtle conservation agreement gives the most comprehensive
picture to date of how well countries have been tackling these
problems.

Much progress is being made. Australia has multi-million dollar
programmes in place to support the development of community-driven
approaches to turtle conservation and to find solutions to the
problem of ghost nets. Indonesia is carrying out advanced research
to identify fisheries-turtle interactions and to work with industry
to develop suitable mitigation measures. The Seychelles has devised
innovative approaches to involve the private sector in practical
conservation measures

Eight countries already have in place national action plans focusing
on turtle conservation, while another ten are preparing their
national strategies. Australia, Oman, Seychelles and South Africa
are among the countries that have been monitoring their turtle
populations for decades; and several more countries have programmes
of longer than 10 years duration.

Douglas Hykle, who co-ordinates the agreement’s activities from
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) office in Bangkok,
said national reports clearly show signatory states are making
greater efforts to monitor, manage and protect their populations of
marine turtles.

“Participating countries have made progress in many areas, but
there is still room for improvement. Many have yet to clearly
describe their resource needs and to mobilise sufficient funding for
domestic implementation; and only a few are carrying the burden of
supporting international coordination efforts,� he said.

The overall report card for the region’s marine turtles is mixed.
South Africa’s nesting population of Loggerhead turtles has
increased markedly with annual nests increasing from 250 to 1,750
over the past four decades. However, the Eastern Australian
population of Loggerheads is reported to be in serious decline, a
situation mirrored in Madagascar.

Green turtles, still very abundant in the Sultanate of Oman, have
fallen in number in Indonesia and Philippines due to unsustainable
egg collection and poaching. Olive ridley turtles, which nest in the
thousands in India, are reported to be declining. In Thailand, their
numbers are already critically low, and are thought to represent
only about five percent of historical levels.

Signatories identified natural phenomena, such as predation, as the
most common threat to marine turtles, followed closely by incidental
capture in coastal fisheries. Both threats are reported to occur
with “moderate to strong� intensity at about 35% of the sites
surveyed, covering about 18 countries. Serious threat of egg
collection came third in the ranking, identified as a problem at 20%
of the sites in 14 countries. Traditional consumption of meat and
eggs still occurs in three-quarters of the Signatory States
canvassed.

Attention is being focused squarely on fishing impacts. Set gill
nets are reported by half of the Signatories to have serious impacts
on turtles. By-catch in shrimp trawls has been identified as a
problem, yet less than a third of the members have effective systems
in place to address it. Other harmful illegal fisheries have been
documented, including what appears to be a resurgence of destructive
fishing methods using dynamite and poison.

Coastal development, including negative consequences of tourism, is
also under the spotlight. Dr. Jack Frazier, Chairman of the
programme’s Advisory Committee, said: “Coastal development -
especially for tourist facilities - has been proceeding very fast in
much of the Indian Ocean region. The chances for negative impacts on
nesting beaches, as well as on inshore foraging and resting areas
for turtles have increased, and are continuing to increase,
dramatically.�

Official delegations from more than 30 countries are expected to
attend the Bali conference. The meeting will review the
implementation of an ambitious conservation and management plan
containing 24 programme areas. Particular attention will be given to
coastal development issues and fisheries interactions with marine
turtles – with mega-projects in India and the tuna longline industry
in Indonesia serving as case studies. The meeting will also discuss
the possible creation of a network of critical sites for marine
turtles.

New tools for exchanging information and monitoring marine turtle
numbers, such as the recently upgraded IOSEA Online Reporting
Facility will be introduced. The online database
http://www.ioseaturtles.org/report.php has information on more than
700 sites of importance for marine turtles throughout the Indian
Ocean and South-East Asia. Users can query the system to obtain
information on where a turtle species occurs, the threats they face
at a given site, the mitigation measures that are being implemented,
as well as the research activities being carried out. All of the
information can be overlaid on high resolution satellite imagery
available online from Google Maps.

Notes to Editors:

The IOSEA (Indian Ocean – Soouth-East Asia) region includes the
ranges of six of the world's seven species of marine turtles. The
Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and
Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean
and South-East Asia was concluded under the auspices of the
Convention on Migratory Species in 2001. Signatories to the
agreement commit to putting in place measures to conserve the
region's marine turtle populations and the habitats on which they
depend. Website: www.ioseaturtles.

org

Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comoros, Eritrea, India,
Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar,
Mauritius, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia,
Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates,
United Republic of Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, and Viet
Nam are currently signatories to the memorandum. The Government of
Yemen is expected to sign the agreement on 20 August 2008, bringing
to 28 the number of Signatory States.

The conference, taking place from 20-23 August 2008 at the Sanur
Plaza Hotel, Bali, will be opened by the Indonesia’s Minister of
Marine Affairs and Fisheries, H.E. Freddy Numberi. The event
coincides with the transmission to broadcasters across the Asia-
Pacific region of a stunning educational DVD titled “Sea Turtles –
Our Ocean Ambassadors�. <

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TAMILS FOR JUSTICE FULLY SUPPORTS THE PROTECTION OF FAUNA AND FLORA IN THE GULF OF MANANR, WHICH ARE BEING DESTROYED BY THE INDIANS -GOI, AND SSCP, AS WELL AS THE POACHING INDIAN FISHERMAN.