Peter B. Richardson

Marine Turtle Fisheries in the UK Overseas Territories of the Caribbean: Domestic Legislation and the Requirements of Multilateral Agreements

1 Marine Conservation Society, Ross on Wye, Hereford HR9 5NB, England, U.K. The corresponding author, Peter Richardson, can be reached at this address and by e-mail: peter@mcsuk.org. The authors thank those who generously assisted in the compilation of information: C. Bell, J. Blumenthal, R. Claxton, D. Dudgeon, V. Fleming, M. Fulford Gardiner, S. Gore, K. Hodge, J. Jeffers, and B. Lettsome. The work builds on that of the Turtles in the Caribbean Overseas Territories (TCOT) project funded by the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK Government and supported by many hundreds in the Overseas Territories to whom we are extremely grateful. This article is part of the graduate studies of Peter Richardson at the University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, and is supported by the European Social Fund and the Marine Conservation Society. The Darwin Initiative, the Overseas Territories Environment Programme of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development, and the National Environmental Research Council provided additional support. 2 Marine Turtle Research Group, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, England, U.K. 3 Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 28516, U.S.A. 4 J. Frazier, Prehistoric and Ancient Interactions between Humans and Marine Turtles, in 2 THE BIOLOGY OF SEA TURTLES 1-38 (P.L. Lutz & J. Musick, eds., 2003). 5 Id., L.M. Campbell, Contemporary Culture, Use, and Conservation of Sea Turtles, id. at 307-338, and E. Fleming, Swimming against the tide. Recent Surveys of Exploitation, Trade and Management of Marine Turtles in the Northern Caribbean (TRAFFIC North America, 2001).

Marine Turtles in the Turks and Caicos Islands: Remnant Rookeries, Regionally Significant Foraging Stocks, and a Major Turtle Fishery

Abstract This study reviews the status of marine turtles in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) using data gathered during a multidisciplinary study involving field surveys, questionnaire-based interviews, and molecular genetics between 2002 and 2006. Large aggregations of foraging turtles in the archipelagos waters are dominated by juvenile green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), with provisional mixed-stock analysis of these species suggesting that the aggregations originate predominantly from larger and relatively proximate source rookeries in the Wider Caribbean region. This study also suggests that the islands host remnant nesting populations of turtles, with hawksbill turtle nests recorded more frequently than green and loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nests. The TCI islanders retain a culture of turtle use, with the current regulated and legitimate harvest likely to be one of the largest among the Caribbean Islands. This study suggests that historic and current harvest of turtles and their eggs in the TCI may have contributed to the apparent decline in the countrys nesting populations. In order to address this conservation concern, changes to the regulation and management of the TCIs turtle fishery are necessary, but further research is needed to inform these changes.

Fisher choice may increase prevalence of green turtle fibropapillomatosis disease

Disease in wildlife populations is often controlled through culling. But when healthy individuals are removed and diseased individuals are left in the population, it is anticipated that prevalence of disease increases. Although this scenario is presumably common in exploited populations where infected individuals are less marketable, it is not widely reported in the literature. We describe this scenario in a marine turtle fishery in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), where green turtles are harvested for local consumption. During a two-year period, we recorded the occurrence of fibropapillomatosis (FP) disease in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) captured during in-water surveys and compared it with that of turtles landed in the fishery. 13.4% (n=32) of turtles captured during in-water surveys showed externally visible signs of FP. FP occurred at specific geographic locations where fishing also occurred. Despite the disease being prevalent in the size classes selected by fishers, FP was not present in any animals landed by the fishery (n=162). The majority (61%) of fishers interviewed expressed that they had caught turtles with FP. Yet, 82% of those that had caught turtles with the disease chose to return their catch to the sea, selectively harvesting healthy turtles and leaving those with the disease in the population. Our study illustrates that fisher choice may increase the prevalence of FP disease and highlights the importance of this widely neglected driver in the disease dynamics of exploited wildlife populations.