Abstract

The marine turtle populations of the northern and western Australian region comprise a significant conservation resource on a world wide scale. The turtles dependent on nesting beaches within, and those inhabiting the offshore and coastal feeding grounds, and utilising developmental habitats, of the western Australian region comprise a considerable part of this resource. Practically, turtles of offshore Western Australia are those of the south-east Indian Ocean basin. The Australian state of Western Australia has carried the substantial major responsibility for ensuring conservation of these turtle populations. The Western Australian Marine Turtle Project (WAMTP) was started for the purpose of addressing this responsibility.

Preliminary data from the WAMTP was reviewed and discussed at the first Australian Marine Turtle Conservation Workshop held mid-November 1990 (see Prince 1994a). A general review of the WAMTP activities from 1986 on, including a summary of further progress of the WAMTP work programs, and outline of continuing project development through to the end of nesting season 1991/92, was presented by Prince (1993). Some additional data from the 1992/93 nesting season work program was covered by Prince (1994b).

In this chapter I review progress of the WAMTP work since 1992/93, and discuss the course of activities undertaken, results from that work, andfactors affecting maintenance and carriage of the project itself

Project Goals, Outlook and Implementation

The major goals of the WAMTP were to provide for better conservation and management of the western Australian region sea turtle populations and their environment, consistent with developing state of knowledge and ongoing improvement to best available management practice

The western Australian Marine Turtle Project was planned to be a major part of a primary, regional level, tropical and sub-tropical marine coastal conservation and environmental management program. Additional to the regional sea turtle populations, the other focal ecosystem elements already included were seagrasses and dugongs. Essential management aims focused on coastal and offshore area for sustainable wildlife conservation and other uses.

The first stage of the project was initiated in and launched through mid- 1986. Initial implementation was aided by support from the Australian Commonwealth (Federal) Government conservation agency, then the ANPWS, and currently Environment Australia. The first task was to integrate efforts of the original primary participants. The second was to decide on the best program strategy applicable for current Western Australian circumstances and knowledge of the sea turtle populations, and to meet needs for long term management applications.

Project Structure and Progress

Briefly, the program set out to gain an adequate understanding of the distribution and abundance of the various marine turtle populations utilising western Australian region breeding sites and marine habitats, the nature of inter-relationships within species at the regional level between the groups using the different breeding sites, and the linkages between breeding sites (rookeries) and living/feeding areas of importance for the maintenance of these adult turtle populations. The program also was to develop an understanding of the processes affecting maintenance and abundance of sea turtle populations as an aid to addressing real management needs, including a consideration of matters relevant to continuing exploitation of turtles for food by Australian Aboriginal people, and to develop appropriate management measures, and interpretation]extension material to assist in education of the public where needed.

The dearth of local knowledge of the western Australian region marine turtle stocks persisting into the early 1 980s has been substantially addressed, but detailed knowledge of nesting sea turtle species seasonal use of breeding sites at the local level has yet to be properly documented and understood. Work to date has resulted in the tagging and release of over 20,000 nesting adult female turtles of four species: green, loggerhead, flatback and hawksbill. Dispersal data for some of these turtles, combined with population genetics data, have helped to define regional species populations.

Tag recovery reports have also assisted in understanding patterns of direct use of some of these turtles, and of other human activities affecting the lives of turtles at sea in the region. Captures of tagged and other turtles in commercial fisheries have provided further focus on management issues, as well as providing real opportunities for learning more about the turtles themselves. Developing knowledge of turtle biology and behaviour has provided the impetus for a better focus on appropriate environmental management practices for other industries.

The project has provided further opportunities for better approaches to coastal management and conservation practices, as well as for appreciation of the turtles where willing community-based supporters, assistants and tourist facilities and tour operators are found.

Project Management Path and Lessons

The first major hurdle was the withdrawal of participant involvement, initiated from within the host institution in 1988/89. This problem was overcome in the first place by taking a conscious decision to increase networked involvement of communities and associated industries. This lead to the development of a primary volunteer program focus for the major study sites/project component activities (the need to seek influence in direct use, and toward the ultimate goal of helping to develop a contemporary sustainable indigenous harvest management practice also required establishment of supported links with user groups).

The second point of departure from desirable integration was the loss of the support facilitating involvement of the indigenous Western Australian users of (principally green) sea turtles in the West Kimberley program. This omission has not yet been corrected.

The third major conflict affecting carriage of the necessary work overlapped completion of the base level project development program achieved over 1993/94, when World Heritage Area management funds permitted the first field work for the Dirk Hartog Island nesting loggerhead turtle population.

Mismatch of the straightforward operational requirements for continuing viability of a well developed but resource poor community-supported project, in the face of differing and diverse institutional objectives and imposed pressures from those sources, have made efficient progress and timely formal reporting of developing knowledge extremely difficult. The project has generally been kept functional at the minimum desirable level since late 1993, but with increasing difficulty over the last 5 years. The future for major project segments is now uncertain.

There is a core of continuing community and other support available to assist with carriage of sea turtle conservation work that can be effectively involved, provided there is institutional or other appropriate commitment to long term maintenance of a minimum viable and skilled project management group. The labour-intensive nature of sea turtle conservation work demands community participation and support to succeed, but this goodwill needs to be translated into continuing commitment of participants and development of necessary skills to be useful. Maintenance of an appropriate continuing viable sea turtle focus program attracts assistance providing an initial four- to five-fold multiplier of value of committed operational funds. An adequately supported management-focused sea turtle project can provide many complementary opportunities for outward linked research projects that are beneficial to achievement of the wider program objectives, and of assistance to the primary management authority in discharge of its public responsibilities.

Potential benefits from necessary collaborative work are most readily secured and realised when programs being, or proposed to be, implemented are approached as partnerships rather than otherwise. Conversion of new knowledge into better management practice requires some good appreciation of the nature of the activities proposed to be affected by any change, as well as the knowledge as to why such change is desirable. Programs involving work at sea are much more expensive to support than any similar land- based conservation tasks.

The need for taking a different approach to promotion of marine conservation work is not necessarily well appreciated by institutions having a primary terrestrial focus. Appropriate quantitative population study is an integral part of any functional conservation and management program. 'Science' and 'management' are complementary parts of a whole, and should be managed interactively as such.

The common tendency of institutional control systems to effectively disconnect elements of integrated working programs at some point is particularly damaging in the case of sea turtle programs. Dissociation of carriage of tasks from development of competence and maintenance of appropriate level of performance commitment is also counterproductive. Whatever the management systems we might design, these will only truly succeed if the particular human community structure and social environment is conducive to any necessary changes.

The Way Ahead

The Western Australian Marine Turtle Project has provided a good foundation for future regional sea turtle conservation. The western Australian coastal region is the appropriate initial focus for this work, but there are primary geographic and political structural problems associated with the base being the state of Western Australia. Further, the human resource base sustaining the WAMTP work has been below viable core group size for some considerable time.

Because of the persistent concurrent human resource, skills, and funding trap, further data analysis and improvement of presentations has not proceeded as desired. The population studies in progress depend for their intended value on continuity of appropriate intensity and duration of the field studies. Proposed core funding options now being suggested to support this work, and to improve the prospects for viability of an effective project management, are not timely, and will impose another seasonal discontinuity. Means for avoiding further depletion of the support base for this project are urgently required.

References

Broderick, D., C. Moritz, J.D. Miller, M. Guinea, R.I.T. Prince & C.J. Limpus, 1994. Genetic Studies of the Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata: Evidence for Multiple Stocks in Australian Waters. Pacific Cons. Biol. 1:123-131.

Fitzsimmons, N.N., C. Moritz, C.J. Limpus, J.D. Miller, C.J. Parmenter & R.I.T. Prince, 1996. Comparative Genetic Structure of Green, Loggerhead, and Flat-back Populations in Australia Based on Variable mtDNA and nDNA Regions. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sea Turtle Conservation Genetics (Bowen, B.W. & W.N. Witzell, eds.). NOAA Tech. Mem., NMFS-SEFSC-396: 25-32.

Fitzsimmons, N.N., C. Moritz, C.J. Limpus, L. Pope & R.I.T. Prince, 1997. Geographic Structure of Mitochondrial and Nuclear Gene Polymorphisms in Australian Green Turtle Populations and Male-Biased Gene Flow. Genetics 147: 1843-1854.

Preen, A.R., H. Marsh, I.R. Lawler, R.I.T. Prince & R. Shepherd, 1997. Distribution and Abundance of Dugongs, Turtles, Dolphins and other Megafauna in Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia. Wildl. Res. 24: 185-208.

Prince, R.I.T., 1993. Western Australian Marine Turtle Conservation Project: An Outline of Scope and an Invitation to Participate. Marine Turtle Newsletter 60: 8-14.

Prince, R.I.T., 1994. Status of the Western Australian Marine Turtle Populations: The Western Australian Marine Turtle Project 1986-1990. In: Proceedings of the Australian Marine Turtle Conservation Workshop (R. James, Comp.). November 1990. ANCA, Canberra: 1-14.

Prince, R.I.T., 1994. The Flatback Turtle (Natator depressus) in Western Australia: New Information from the Western Australian Marine Turtle Project. In: Proceedings of the Australian Marine Turtle Conservation Workshop (R. James, Comp.). November 1990. ANCA, Canberra: 146-148.

Prince, R.I.T., 1994. Shark Bay World Heritage Area: An Important Loggerhead Nesting Site. Marine Turtle Newsletter 67: 5-6.

Prince, R.I.T., 1998. Marine Turtle Conservation: The Links Between Populations in Western Australia and the Northern Australian Region - People and Turtles. In: Proceedings of the Marine Turtle Conservation and Management in Northern Australia Workshop (Kennett, R., A. Webb, G. Duff, M. Guinea and G. Hill, eds.). June 1997. Centre for Indigenous Natural and Cultural Resource Management and Centre for Tropical Wetlands Management, Northern Territory University, Darwin: 93-99.

Raidal, S.R. & R.I.T. Prince, 1996. First Confirmation of Multiple Fibropapillomas in a Western Australian Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas). Marine Turtle Newsletter 74: 7-9.

Raidal, S.R., M. O'Hara, R.P. Hobbs & R.I.T. Prince, 1998. Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections and Cardiovascular Parasitism in Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas).Aust. Vet. J. 76: 415-417.