AWAY FROM SAFETY OF GALAPAGOS, GREEN TURTLE DC235 DIES FROM LONG LINE FISHING
The disheartening news of the first recorded death of a sea turtle marked in Galapagos was received recently by Patricia Zárate, Charles Darwin Foundation's (CDF) marine turtle project coordinator. Tagged as DC235 by the CDF monitoring team, this female East Pacific green turtle (Chelonia mydas) was caught and died in the long line of a commercial vessel fishing for tuna in Panama in December 2005.
According to Zarate, "While within the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) the turtles are safe. Industrial fishing was prohibited in the GMR in 1998 and long lining by artisanal fishers was banned in 2005. Our research helps support the efforts of the Galapagos National Park Service to ensure the turtles have
sanctuary in Galapagos."
Beyond the 40 mile limit of protected waters that surround the Galapagos archipelago they are however vulnerable to international fishing pressure during migration and in their feeding areas outside the haven created by the GMR.
DC235 was tagged in February 2004 at Las Bachas beach on the northern side of Santa Cruz Island. She was seen regularly during the nesting seasons by Zarate's monitoring team and was recorded laying over 50 eggs during her visits to the nesting sites. These turtles are the only species that actually nest in the islands and the nesting colony of Galapagos is one of the largest in the East Pacific.
Since 2000 the CDF's marine turtle team has investigated the reproductive and foraging activities of the species within the GMR. The CDF now has extensive information about the population size of reproductive females on nesting beaches, the annual hatching rate of juveniles on the nesting beaches, and the effect of predators on nests. Tracking satellite tags placed on 13 turtles from Galapagos show that at least 3 other nesting females have traveled as far as Central America. There they feed, sometimes for several years, building up condition before returning to Galapagos to breed and nest.
A fisherman kept DC235's tag as a keepsake but later handed it to a WWF on-board observer who traced the tag back to the CDF. The WWF project on commercial vessels promotes the use of special hooks designed to reduce the capture and death of non-target species. Several Pacific countries including
Ecuador are involved in the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles that aims to reduce incidental fishing of non-target species such as the green turtle by industrial and artisanal fishing fleets. CDF is providing important information about green turtles so that the threats to these peaceful ocean travelers are better understood. Our research enables solutions to be found that contribute to improving fisheries management not just in Galapagos but across the Pacific Ocean.
The importance of the CDF's marine turtle monitoring and the need to improve fishing practices across the globe are highlighted by this sad story of a turtle who will no longer lay eggs in the safe haven of Galapagos. Her contribution to the next generation of this ancient species has been forever lost.
..Top
|
