Posted on April, 10 2001

Palmerston, Cook Islands: The 15 islands of the Cooks in the South Pacific are predominantly atolls and upraised limestone outcrops whose sandy beaches provide a sheltered nesting place for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). The turtle is also a traditional food for the Cook islanders.

In November 2000 a survey was undertaken on Palmerston atoll, coordinated by Hoyt Peckham of Cook Islands Whale Research and Bill Marsters of the Ministry of Marine Resources, with assistance from the conservation organization WWF, to determine the relative abundance of the turtles. "Repeated each year, these surveys will yield baseline data that can be used to determine whether and at what level harvesting is possible," says Peckham. The survey will be done on the same beach, for the same length of time, during the same time of the year so that total annual numbers are comparable.

The whole island population was involved. However, the survey differs in another special way - all the volunteers have the same surname "Marsters" thanks to one of Captain Cook's crew, William Masters, and his three wives who settled the island in 1863. ( The extra "r" in his name was added later.)

Because turtles nest at night, the surveys are done in shifts beginning at sunset until 1am and then again from 1am to sunrise. The beach is patrolled every hour. After a turtle has finished laying her eggs, she is quickly tagged, measured and a biopsy sample taken for genetic analysis.

The whole process takes about 5-10 minutes. As Peckham points out, the experience the Marsters are gaining through their involvement in the project is as important as the data the survey is yielding. "They are gaining a first-hand look at the work of conservation and natural resource management."

"Our scientific survey will give Marsters an objective tool with which to manage the turtles here. Instead of relying on chance and isolated encounters to determine abundance, the survey results will yield a concrete measure of nesting activity on which to base their turtle conservation measures."

Only seven nesting females, including four that have returned to the beach to nest a second time were found during the survey. This is a disappointing tally for Peckham. "2000 appears to be a very slow year, especially when compared to 1999, when 5 to 10 times more nesting occurred."

The first turtle in the Cook Islands to be monitored by satellite was also released in November. "Mama Marsters" was tagged after she had laid her eggs. The process took about two hours to attach the tag - about the size of a video cassette -- to her shell using fibreglass. She was released unharmed immediately afterwards.

The information on her progress relayed back to the satellite monitors will prove invaluable for researchers in Cook Islands and Hawaii, in unlocking such mysteries in the life cycle of the green turtle as where do they go? how long do they stay away? and whether they return to the same place to lay their eggs?

The tagging project excited much interest on Palmerston. "The community showed a keen involvement in her progress" Peckham says. WWF provided regular updates on her position throughout the tracking period in the local newspaper and schools.

Renamed Mama Onu, the turtle has been tracked to her feeding ground in the Vatulele waters of the Fiji group, over 1,200 kilometers and 40 days swimming away.

In December 2000, the Cook Island government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with WWF to formally establish a WWF office. Under the MOU, WWF will carry out surveys and research, protected area management, integrated rural development, conservation education, training, resource planning and management, environmental protection, nature or eco-tourism projects and other sustainable development activities.

And the Marsters family will all be waiting for their turtle to return.

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*Bernadette Masianini is WWF South Pacific Programme Office Communications Officer based in Suva, Fiji.

*Jacqui Evans is WWF Cook Islands Project Manager