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Introduction
he conservation and management of marine megafauna is a global challenge, often hampered by a lack
of financial and human resources, and there is significant
data deficiency in relation to marine species (Schipper
et al., ; Mangel et al., ; Broderick, ). The situation may be particularly complicated in more remote regions, such as offshore islands and archipelagos, which
can be popular fishing grounds as well as hotspots for migratory marine species (Sullivan et al., ; Brotons et al.,
; Capietto et al., ). Threatened marine mammals,
turtles and seabirds are not only targeted directly but also
suffer high mortality from bycatch (Lewison & Crowder,
; Pusineri & Quillard, ; Senko et al., ).
Marine turtles face threats both in the sea and when nesting
on land, and are particularly vulnerable if their nesting
grounds are remote, attract a high number of fishers and
are located in a region that lacks capacity for monitoring
and enforcement.
The majority of marine turtle nesting sites in Madagascar
are on the west coast, closest to the most suitable foraging
habitats, with higher concentrations of nesting on some of
the larger islands in the north-west (Rakotonirina &
Cooke, ; Bourjea et al., ; Metcalf et al., ).
Nesting rates in Madagascar may have been historically
lower than on neighbouring islands (e.g. Europa, Mayotte)
but are known to have declined in the latter half of the th
century (Frazier, ; Rakotonirina, ; Rakotonirina &
Cooke, ; Walker & Roberts, ). One site that previously hosted dozens of nesting olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea on the west coast of Madagascar was reported to have
had no nesting turtles since the mid s (Rakotonirina &
Cooke, ).
All five species of marine turtles found in Madagascar
(green Chelonia mydas, hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata,
loggerhead Caretta caretta, olive ridley, and leatherback
Dermochelys coriacea) are protected from domestic exploitation (Presidential Decree ). However, coastal
fishing communities continue to take all five species, at an
estimated rate of ,, year (Humber et al.,
). National laws are not enforced for a number of reasons, including a lack of implementation capacity, a reluctance to manage a resource that is culturally important to
many fishers, and the extent of the Malagasy coastline and
territorial waters (Okemwa et al., ).
F. Humber et al.
Study area
The Barren Isles is an archipelago of islands off the west
coast of Madagascar in the Mozambique Channel (Fig. ).
The archipelago includes c. , km of marine and coastal
habitats and some of the healthiest reefs in Madagascar, and
supports a productive artisanal pelagic fishery (Leroux,
; Van Canneyt et al., ; Cripps, ). The Isles
have no permanent residents or villages but during the austral
winter (AprilNovember) an estimated , Vezo and Sara
migrant fishers from along the west coast of Madagascar set
up temporary camps on the islands to exploit the relatively
rich marine resources (Blue Ventures, unpubl. data; Cripps,
, ; Leroux et al., ). All the islands are inhabited
during this period, although the island of Nosy Mboro has
been protected since by a local law that prohibits people
from staying overnight. Limited nesting surveys in the region
suggested there was a small but significant nesting aggregation threatened by direct take from local and migrant fishers
(Leroux, ).
Methods
Data were collected by a team of eight community members,
who were selected through an interview process, having
been recommended as turtle nest monitors by a resident researcher in . Criteria for selection included motivation,
trustworthiness and the ability to deal with the harsh conditions on the islands. All monitors were fishermen in their
s to s and were paid a monthly salary. In December
the team received days training in identifying turtle
species and nests, measuring curved carapace length, and
photography. This included both office- and field-based
training, and methods were based on those of Les tortues
marines du Sud Ouest de lOcan Indien (TORSOOI,
), developed to promote standardization of data collection. A month of trial data collection was completed in
December . The team was supervised by a project coordinator based in Maintirano, who also visited the teams on
the islands at least once per season to check their monitoring methods. Refresher training sessions were held at the
start of the and seasons.
Four islands were surveyed regularly, by two surveyors
per island, during DecemberMay each year during
(three seasons; Table ). Previous accounts
and reports suggested this was the main nesting season,
Oryx, Page 1 of 12 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605315001398
20122013
20132014
Total days
monitoring
No. of nests
(interpolated)
Total days
monitoring
No. of nests
(interpolated)
Total days
monitoring
No. of nests
(interpolated)
Abohazo (2.08)
Andrano (2.13)
Dondosy (0.83)
Lava (2.46)
Mangily (1.35)
Mboro (1.16)
Total
98
98
102
11 (14.9)
7 (4)
2 (2)
99
100
99
26 (41.1)
22 (26.3)
2 (3.6)
106
106
106
106
31 (42.9)
7 (8.7)
4 (5.6)
6
99
397
7
27 (27.9)
101
4
403
4
6
60 (80.9)
424
48 (63.1)
F. Humber et al.
Results
Current nesting in the Barren Isles A total of nesting
emergences were observed over three nesting seasons
between January and May , and nests were
FIG. 3 Current known marine turtle nesting sites around Madagascar. The site numbers refer to Supplementary Table S. Asterisks
indicate data based on no. of nesting turtles per year (**) and track counts (***). No attempt was made to extrapolate nesting data for
a period , year. The origins of tags retrieved by Blue Ventures in Madagascar are indicated.
F. Humber et al.
Discussion
Historical vs current nesting indicates a decline
Nesting numbers in Madagascar may have been low historically but there is currently only one nesting site estimated to
have . nests per year (Nosy Hara, Fig. , site ). Nesting
has declined in particular on the mainland as a result of systematic collection of eggs and nesting females (Rakotonirina
& Cooke, ; Walker & Roberts, ; Cooke et al., ).
Furthermore at . sites where nesting was recorded historically there has been no nesting since . There were
large numbers of loggerhead turtles nesting in the southeast during the s but only nests were recorded in
the nesting season, of which half were taken illegally (Gladstone et al., ). In this study declines were
reported at all sites, including along the coastline adjacent
to the islands where monitoring was carried out.
Madagascars islands (e.g. Nosy Iranja, Nosy Hara) remain
the most important nesting sites within national waters
(Bourjea et al., ; Metcalf et al., ). However, on
Nosy Ve, one of the five small islands on the west coast protected in , nesting was last reported in (A. Cooke,
unpubl. data), and nesting is no longer known to occur on
Nosy Vao (fishers, pers. comm.).
had larger nesting aggregations previously. Interviewees attributed the decline in nesting to increased human presence
since c. and increasing numbers of migrant fishers. The
Barren Isles are threatened not only by increasing fishing
pressure but also by increasing commercial interests from
semi-industrial and industrial fisheries, targeting high-value
species such as sharks and sea cucumbers, and commercial
mining operations targeting the islands guano deposits
(Cripps, , ).
F. Humber et al.
TABLE 2 Positive and negative aspects of the community-based turtle nest monitoring programme in the Barren Isles, Madagascar (Fig. ).
Conclusion
It is vital that Madagascars remaining nesting turtle populations are protected, as reports emerge of new markets for turtles and their shells (Repoblikani Madagasikara, ). To
monitor and protect nesting of multiple species across
small, scattered, remote sites would require significant financial resources and capacity, which are currently unavailable at
the local or national levels. However, we have shown that
Oryx, Page 1 of 12 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605315001398
Acknowledgements
We thank in particular Audrey Campillo, a researcher affiliated with the La Runion-based research group Kelonia
(www.kelonia.org), who provided initial training for the
community monitoring team in Madagascar. We also
thank the eight community members of the monitoring
team from Maintirano, Jean Berthieu Nomenjanahary and
Armel Bezafy for their assistance, Charlotte Moffat,
Jrmie Bossert and Marianne Teoh for assisting with community interviews and data organization, Samir Gandhi for
helping to prepare Figs , the State of the Worlds Sea
Turtles, National Geographics Conservation Trust and
The Rufford Foundation for supporting Blue Ventures
marine turtle conservation and research work in
Madagascar, and two referees for their helpful input.
10
F. Humber et al.
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Biographical sketches
FR A N C E S HU M B E R is interested in increasing the knowledge of the status of traditional and artisanal fisheries, in particular the traditional
shark and turtle fisheries of Madagascar, through community-based
assessment. BR E N D A N GO D L E Y is interested in the study and conservation of marine vertebrates. T A N G U Y N I C O L A S , F L O R E N C E
P I C H O N and O L I V I E R R A Y N A U D previously coordinated Blue
Ventures Barren Isles and Maintirano Project. T A N G U Y currently
works with the IUCN French Committee focusing on biodiversity in
Mayotte and other EU member states overseas territories of the
Indian Ocean, FL O R E N C E is studying community-based climate
change adaptation, and O L I V I E R works for the Conservatoire du littoral in Saint Martin and Saint Barthlmy, focusing on coastal and insular land acquisition and ecosystem restoration. AN N E T T E
BR O D E R I C K s research focuses on the exploitation and status of marine vertebrate populations, in particular marine turtles.