Project Final Report - Contract 05-WPC-016: To assist and provide liaison support to the WPRFMC's marine turtle program in the Western Pacific region

Abstract

Leatherback turtle populations of the Western Pacific region have been of concern for a number of years, among these the population nesting along the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, but amidst this decline, the Huon coast remains one of the last key nesting sites of the species. The major threats to turtles nesting in Papua New Guinea in the past have been depredation of nests by dogs, local consumption of eggs and occasional slaughter of adult nesting females.