Turtle program
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Click image to go to green turtle fact sheet
Harvest of sea turtle eggs was a common occurrence on Guam prior to World War II. The Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) was harvested legally on Guam prior to August 1978, when it was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) has been on the endangered list since 1970. In an effort to ensure protection of sea turtles on Guam, routine sightings are counted during aerial surveys and nest sites are recorded and monitored for hatchlings.
Traditional harvests of sea turtles were primarily for local consumption at fiestas, weddings, funerals, and christenings. In recent times, poaching of sea turtles have been known to occur on Guam, due to the traditional demand for its meat. However, capture of the responsible parties has been difficult, although arrests have been made in the past for unauthorized take. Effective conservation and enforcement will be critical to the recovery efforts of this project.
DAWR will continue to give sea turtle presentations for community awareness, especially through the elementary-secondary school system and University of Guam. In addition, the recommendation to produce and distribute sea turtle posters and pamphlets would help to enhance conservation and recovery awareness within the local community.
Guam’s Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR) Sea Turtle Recovery Program (STRP) is funded in part by the NMFS Honolulu, PIAO to determine the extent of Guam’s resident/nesting sea turtle populations and nesting habitats by conducting beach surveys and satellite tracking. ComNavMarianas has funded part of the satellite telemetry portion of the project through the purchase of satellite tags and satellite time. The objectives of the project are:
- To collect baseline population size-structure (age and size) and genetic information for sea turtles in and about Guam.
- To survey Guam’s beaches for sea turtle nesting activity for both green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) throughout the nesting period in order to determine the size of the nesting population of sea turtles on Guam and to employ a variety of tagging techniques to determine movement, residency and further define population dynamics.
- To establish a Guam based sea turtle-working group consisting of natural resource stakeholders and involve them in the refinement of the implementation plan.
The acquisition of satellite tagging materials and training was completed in March and April 2000. On June 28, 2000, an approximately 250-300 pound Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) was Argos™ satellite-tagged and tracked after making a false crawl (i.e., one in which no nest was made) on Explosive Ordnance Disposal Beach, Andersen Air Force Base. A poaching arrest was also made on the following morning concerning a 22 lb. C. mydas that was illegally speared in the Tumon Bay Marine Preserve Area.
Detailed FY 2000 Report
Guam Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 9/27/2005
