More conservation success on Cousin Island |17 May 2010
The increase is directly attributed to the ongoing turtle conservation program on Cousin started in 1972, with the paper concluding that the increase confirms the success of the management strategy.
"These findings are a validation of the important work carried out on Cousin," says Nirmal Shah, chief executive of Nature Seychelles, which manages the island.
"It is long awaited proof that conservation works even for long lived and critically endangered species like marine turtles."
The evidence also shows that Cousin Island is not only important for bird conservation but for other endangered species.
"At 29 ha, it is one of the smaller islands within the granitic Seychelles, yet one of the most important nesting grounds within this region," the authors say.
Turtle populations are notoriously difficult to census, relying upon long-term monitoring of females at their nesting beaches. This makes the monitoring on Cousin a mean feat.
"Survey effort varied over the years for a variety of reasons, but the underlying trends over time are considered robust," the paper says.
Consistent turtle monitoring commences each season when wardens observe the first evidence of a turtle emerging onto the beach to lay her nest. Beaches are systematically patrolled. A complete patrol involves a full circuit of each of the 4 beaches on the island and varies in duration from 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the number of turtles and tracks encountered. Females emerging on Cousin are individually tagged, and nesting data collected from nesting attempts observed through tracks and actual turtle sightings.
The Seychelles archipelago provides key nesting and feeding areas for the turtles. Seychelles accounts for breeding populations estimated to be in the thousands and is home to the largest remaining populations of hawksbill within the western Indian Ocean.
Tag returns also show inter-island nesting occurs between Cousin and other islands within the Seychelles.
Hawskbill turtles have been protected by law since 1994 when a total legal ban on turtle harvest was implemented. But populations had already declined due to widespread harvesting of nesting females during the 30 years prior to that, with the exception of Cousin. Some poaching still occurs and there have been several arrests and legal cases.
A worldwide trade in turtle shells had also significantly depleted this species globally. In 1996 a total international ban on trade in this species was instituted. Problems of by-catch and habitat destruction still remain in some countries. In the same year the World Conservation Union listed hawksbill turtles as 'Critically Endangered'.
Contributed by Nature Seychelles