|
Eggs are constantly sought after for food. Most turtles are harvested from the neighbouring and barrier islands by waiting until after dusk and then turning them on their back. A large number of turtles are also taken when camped on the islands for diving or fishing expeditions. Sometimes turtles are chased down at sea in sailing canoes. Butchering is done by men and all of the turtle is eaten except for the lungs and other offal. There is a strong taste preference for the meat and fat of the mature female green turtles. The average turtle bottom carapace length was 81 cm x 70 cm (from 25 examples) for greens and 61.5 cm x 55 cm (from 8 examples) for hawksbills. An adult green egg-laying female would produce approximately 45 kgs of edible meat including flesh, stomach, unshelled eggs and other edibles like the liver.
The most popular place for collecting turtles for Brooker Islanders is Jomard Island. 22% of all turtles captured in the 1998-1999 season came from this island. In 1976, Jomard was targeted as a Wildlife Management Area but was never gazetted even though consultation with Brooker people showed they were in favour of the idea of a marine reserve. This is an avenue for re-investigation by the MBP and a monitoring program should be put in place similar to that carried out by the author in his PhD research (see also Kinch, 2001). This could involve biological monitoring and turtle surveying and this would include elements such as: (i) long-term monitoring of the catch of turtles and fishing effort; (ii) information on population parameters of the stocks of turtles that would allow assessment of the impact; (iii) monitoring the size of turtle populations; (iv) assessment of the impact of egg harvest and hunting of adults on the turtle stocks; and (v) assessment of the nesting potential and the level of exploitation of eggs (cf Harris, 1997; Eckert et al, 1999; Fry et al, 2000).
Table 45: Location at Which Turtles Were Harvested by Brooker Islanders (CBMMCA 3): 1998-1999 Season (Source: Kinch, 1999)
Island Name
|
Turtles
|
Eggs
|
Green
|
Hawksbill
|
Green
|
Hawksbill
|
Abaiwolan
|
-
|
-
|
7
|
-
|
Abowat
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
-
|
Bunola
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Ehiki
|
6
|
-
|
4
|
4
|
Enivala
|
15
|
2
|
62
|
10
|
Eyaluguguwa
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Jomard
|
41
|
4
|
70
|
34
|
Kokoluba
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
Lal
|
7
|
7
|
3
|
6
|
Manua
|
-
|
2
|
3
|
-
|
Nabaina
|
4
|
-
|
20
|
21
|
Nagobi
|
3
|
10
|
24
|
39
|
Nitabutabu
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
1
|
Noina
|
4
|
9
|
8
|
11
|
Nunola Mala
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
1
|
Panaboboaina
|
5
|
-
|
6
|
2
|
Panabwaubwa
|
6
|
1
|
33
|
9
|
Panadaludalu
|
14
|
4
|
32
|
17
|
Panalobwa
|
3
|
-
|
4
|
3
|
Pananimunimu
|
2
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Panapatpat
|
1
|
-
|
4
|
1
|
Panapwa
|
3
|
-
|
17
|
1
|
Panarora
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
Panaseal
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
Siva
|
17
|
3
|
57
|
11
|
Yotavi
|
3
|
-
|
7
|
2
| Total |
142
|
48
|
371
|
178
| plus 5 % (turtles) and 10 % (nests/eggs) |
7
|
2
|
37
|
18
| Grand Total |
149
|
50
|
408
|
196
| |
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