Abstract
Hawksbill sea turtlesEretmochelys imbricatainhabiting the Hawaiian Islands are extremely rare and listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. The paucity of data on basic hawksbill ecology continues to hinder effective management of the species. We analyzed stranding data collected between 1984 and 2018 to gain insights into the distribution, demography, and conservation challenges facing hawksbills in Hawai‘i. In doing so, we present a comprehensive description of the population across developmental stages and rank threats that may be impeding their successful recovery. Over the >30 yr data set, we recorded a total of only 111 juvenile and adult hawksbill stranding events. Interactions with nearshore recreational fishing gear were documented for a large proportion (48.6%) of stranding events in the Hawaiian Islands, identifying this as the primary management challenge for the species. Stranding events were biased towards females (female to male sex ratio of 4.8:1.0), which may be indicative of the population as a whole. Even though the majority of hawksbills nest on the islands of Hawai‘i Moloka‘i, and Maui, the greatest number of juvenile to adult strandings was found to be on the island of Oahu (n = 47). Temporal distribution of the majority of adult hawksbill strandings (72.2%) occurred during a 4 mo period between June and September. We discuss these and other findings that help identify future research and conservation efforts to mitigate anthropogenic threats in Hawai‘i for this enigmatic population.
Highlights
The documentation of strandings by marine organisms can lend unique insights into various issues relevant to wildlife management, including population assessments, identification of habitat, interspecific interactions, and primary threats (Lopez et al 2002, Jessup et al 2009)
Since it is not currently possible to assign types of fishing gear recovered from stranded turtles to either of these types, we defined the type of gear as those types used by fisherman in nearshore coastal waters occurring in Hawai‘i state waters within 3 nautical miles from shore
We found the most important causes of hawksbill strandings in Hawai‘i to be fishing gear interactions, emaciation, and predation
Summary
The documentation of strandings by marine organisms can lend unique insights into various issues relevant to wildlife management, including population. Assessments, identification of habitat, interspecific interactions, and primary threats (Lopez et al 2002, Jessup et al 2009). Identifying threats is important for small and highly endangered species, as threat mitigation may determine the sur-. Endang Species Res 47: 109–118, 2022 vival outcome of populations (Lewison et al 2004). Tion on the distribution, size, and sex of stranded indi-. Sea turtles are a globally distributed and extremely viduals to gain further insights and identify future revagile taxon, exposing them to myriad threats and search needs for this data deficient population. Leading to discrete populations often enduring distinct conservation realities (Wallace et al 2011)
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