Saving a Pacific ambassador

Despite measures to protect the leatherhead and other turtles, Indonesia has seen its populations decline by almost 80 per cent over the last three decades

Turtles are cute but scared animals. Hindus believe the world is supported by four of them, while others believe turtles are a symbol of long life and peace.

In several areas of Indonesia, sea turtles play an important role in ceremonies. On the Kei islands in Maluku, for example, people hunt sea turtles for both rites and food.

In other parts of Indonesia, turtle meat remains a delicacy believed to improve health, beauty and sexuality. A popular diet in Bali, high demand for the meat on the island takes fishermen as far as Kalimantan and Sulawesi to seek out the creatures.

All of this has led to the collapse of the leatherbacks, though Indonesia still remains the last sanctuary of these majestic animals.

Trade and consumption of sea turtles, which are considered endangered animals, is banned but this has done little to stop what is a highly lucrative business.

Indonesia has six species of sea turtles on the brink of extinction: green turtles (Chelonia mydas), loggerheads (Carreta carreta), hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata), olive's ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) and leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea).

The leatherback is the largest of all the sea turtles, and is easily differentiated from other sea turtle species because of its lack of a hard shell - its carapace is covered with thick skin and oily flesh.

These turtles can grow up to 1.8 metres long and weigh as much as 900 kilograms. They are able to dive to depths of nearly 1,200 metres and can make 9,500-kilometre trans-Pacific migrations from Indonesia to the US Pacific coast, and then back again.

Today, the last stronghold for leatherback nesting in the Pacific is the Bird's Head Peninsula in West Papua.

Leatherbacks lay their eggs along 20 kilometres of beach at Jamursba Medi and Warmon in West Papua. Aside from leatherbacks, other sea turtles like the olive's ridley, green and hawksbill also lay their eggs beneath the sand.

Indonesia should be proud to be a the last sanctuary of these majestic animals, but recent research shows there was a 78.3 per cent decline in leatherback turtle nests over a 27-year period in West Papua.

The research was undertaken by an international team comprising scientists from the University of Papua (UNIPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Marine Fisheries Service, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia. The results of their study were published in the scientific journal Ecosphere on February 25.

The study used year-round surveys of leatherback turtle nesting areas since 2005 and is the most extensive research on the species to date.

According to the research, leatherback nests have fallen from a peak of 14,455 in 1984 to a low of 1,596 in 2011 at Jamursba Medi Beach in West Papua. Currently, less than 500 leatherbacks are nesting annually there.

"My field crew and I have been documenting the decline of leatherbacks in West Papua. The Pacific leatherback may be headed to extinction if the current declining trend is not reversed through Indonesian and international efforts," says Ricardo Tapilatu, one of the researchers.

Tapilatu, a native of western Papua, has studied leatherback turtles and worked on their conservation since 2004. He's also worked hard to educate locals and limit the harvesting of adult turtles and their eggs.

Tapilatu says leatherbacks are part of Indonesia's heritage as they have been nesting in the archipelago for thousands of years.

"We were optimistic for this population when year-round nesting was discovered in Warmon, but nesting on that beach appears to be declining at a similar rate as Jamursba Medi," he says.

The researchers believe if the decline continues, within 20 years it would be difficult, if not impossible, for leatherbacks to avoid extinction.

"The leatherback is one of the most intriguing animals in nature, and we are watching it decline drastically right in front of our eyes," says UAB's Thane Wibbles, who's studied marine turtles since 1980.

The team believes proper beach management can help to reduce the annual decline of leatherback nests. However, protection of leatherbacks in waters throughout the Pacific is a prerequisite for their survival and recovery

Previous research done by WWF found that fishermen illegally caught and sold sea turtles for meat to China. However, in 2001, China prohibited the import of sea turtle meat from Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.

But fishermen have a new strategy to obtain sea turtles. Before they used fishing nets, but now they dive to catch the creatures.

Indonesia has several conservation areas for sea turtles such as Banyak Island in Aceh, Derawan Island in East Kalimantan, the Kei islands in Maluku and Serangan Island. However, the number of turtles continues to plummet.

As for leatherback sea turtles in West Papua, researcher Peter Datton says the area is now ground zero.

"The leatherbacks have acted as international ambassadors and led us to join with many nations and communities on both sides of the Pacific in a concerted effort to conserve this endangered species," he says.