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Green
Turtles of Palmerston Atoll
The
green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is listed worldwide
as a threatened and endangered species. Green turtle populations
have declined in the Pacific Islands due primarily to nesting
habitat loss and excessive harvesting. Green turtles have
presumably nested at Palmerston Atoll
for thousands of years, and have been an important food resource
since the atoll was settled in 1863. Commercial harvesting
for export was undertaken for several decades in the past
century. The status and biology of the Palmerston turtle population
is unknown; harvesting has neither been regulated nor documented.
With
worldwide sea turtle populations dropping, South Pacific populations
declining, and other Cook Islands rookeries unlikely to recover,
conserving the Palmerston Atoll rookery warrants immediate
attention. Determining the status of the atoll's nesting turtles
and training islanders to monitor them are the first steps
towards effective conservation management.
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