Temporal and geographic distribution of hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) nests in Fiji, South Pacific

Description:

The Critically Endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) has a circumglobal distribution with nesting activities that have been recorded in 70 countries across the tropical and temperate regions (Witzell 1983; Mortimer & Donnelly 2008). One of the largest hawksbill nesting rookeries is in Barbados in the Caribbean, where there is an estimated total population of 1,250 nesting females (Meylan & Donnelly 1999; Beggs et al. 2007). Within the Pacific, about 220-580 hawksbill females nest annually in northern Australia (Hoenner et al. 2016; Bell et al. 2020). Fiji hosts nesting activities from two species of sea turtles: hawksbill, locally known as ‘vonu taku’, and green turtle (Chelonia mydas), locally known as ‘vonu dina’ (Guinea 1993; Bell 2013; Piovano 2018; Piovano et al. 2019).

Display date:

2020

Location:

Fiji

Collections:

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

Publisher:

The University of the South Pacific (USP)

Content partner:

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

Availability:

Not specified