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2nd ASEAN Symposium and Workshop
on
Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation
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SESSION
3: Beyond the Beach....
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ABSTRACTS
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Post-nesting
Migrations of Hawksbill Turtles in the Granitic Seychelles: Implications
for Conservation
Jeanne A. Mortimer
Since 1973, more than 800 nesting
hawksbills were tagged in the Republic of Seychelles, but there were no
international tag returns. Similar numbers of tagged green turtles, however,
yielded a half dozen international tag returns. Satellite telemetry was
thus chosen as the best method to determine the post-nesting movements
of the Seychelles hawksbills. In January 1998, satellite transmitters were
applied to five females after they laid eggs at Cousin Island [Mortimer
& Balazs, in press]. Although three animals were tracked for more than
a year, none of the five animals travelled beyond the edge of the Seychelles
Bank--a maximum distance of 200 km. This suggests that adult female hawksbills
remain within the territorial waters of Seychelles, and provides further
incentive to the people of Seychelles to protect their hawksbills. The
Seychelles Government has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to conserving
the Critically Endangered hawksbill turtle: in 1994, through an artisan
compensation and re-training programme that eliminated domestic trade in
hawksbill shell; in 1995, by providing complete legal protection for all
sea turtles; and in 1998 by burning its stockpile of raw hawksbill shell. |
