[Ntu-media-releases] media release - Cuban harvest of the Hawksbill Turtle

[robert boskovski]

Cuban harvest of the Hawksbill Turtle

The Northern Territory University will host a seminar tomorrow,
Thursday, 26 September, focusing on the Hawksbill Turtle and Cuba’s
harvest of the reptile and its implications.

Charlie Manolis, who, since 1980, has held the position of Chief
Scientist with Darwin based Wildlife Management International Pty Ltd,
will present the seminar.

In his position at Wildlife Management International Pty Ltd, Mr Manolis
has been involved in research on crocodilians and other reptiles,
looking at such issues as embryology, egg function, physiology, ecology,
captive husbandry, population dynamics, conservation and management.

For the past seven years Mr Manolis and Professor Graham Webb have acted
as advisors to the Cuban Ministry of Fishing Industries, and have been
involved with different aspects of the Hawksbill Turtle program
including satellite tracking, population dynamics, mtDNA analysis, nest
survey methodology and harvest monitoring. They have also experimented
with ranching of Hawksbill Turtles in the Northern Territory.

Mr Manolis said Cuba has a long history of turtle fishing. Its harvest
of around 5000 Hawksbill Turtles per year was voluntarily reduced in the
early 1990s to an upper limit of 500 per year, and is now restricted to
two remote fishing communities.

During the seminar Mr Manolis will explore how the fishery is well
regulated and has been supported by a strong research effort and how
monitoring at the traditional harvest sites and at the main nesting area
in Cuba, indicates that the harvest is not having a detrimental impact
on the wild population.

Mr Manolis believes Cuba's results are consistent with data from other
Caribbean nations, which together show that the regional population is
increasing by about 16% per year.

He will also talk about how the research has shed light on many aspects
of the biology of Hawksbill Turtles, including the extent of movement
and wild growths.

The seminar will take place from 12 noon to 1 pm, and will be held in
Building 22, room 1, at the NTU Casuarina Campus, Thursday, 26
September. The event is part of the Key Centre for Tropical Wildlife
Management seminar series.

ends.
25 September, 2002

For further information contact:
Jane Coates Media Liaison
Northern Territory University
(08) 8946 6019  or  0438 466 439

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://bronzewing.cdu.edu.au/pipermail/cdu-media-releases/attachments/20020925/243be6cc/attachment.html