rebuilding caribbean hawksbill populations

Rebuilding Caribbean Hawksbill Populations

A Coordinated Investment Strategy and Business Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Figure 1. Regional management units (RMU) for Hawksbill sea turtles from Wallace et al. 2010 with added red outline of the Atlantic, Western Caribbean/USA management unit, which is the focus of this business plan.

Building on its 15-year history in sea turtle conservation in the Western Hemisphere, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) proposes a ten-year plan to position Caribbean Hawksbill sea turtle populations onto a sustainable recovery trajectory. The goal of this ten-year proposal is to increase the Caribbean Hawksbill Regional Management Unit’s nesting female population to 25,000 by 2022, which represents a 100% increase over 2008 levels. This strategy directly builds on more than $600,000 invested by NFWF and its partners to stabilize the steep historical decline of the Caribbean Hawksbill RMU population and increase capacity throughout the region for sea turtle conservation. These previous investments and networking in the region allow us to put forward a ten-year plan that targets fisheries bycatch mortality, direct harvest of turtles and degradation of nesting beach habitat, which are the top threats impeding the recovery of the Caribbean Hawksbill RMU population. The plan focuses future funding to geographic areas where these threats are having the greatest impact and where the capacity has been built from previous investments to successfully address (mitigate) them. In preparing this strategy, NFWF has relied upon the best available science, convened a body of 12 experts on the Caribbean Hawksbill RMU to develop goals and strategies, and solicited ideas and data from all 40 Caribbean countries in which Hawksbill sea turtles have been known to nest. This business plan also incorporates the new assessment tools that NFWF has been developing to aid in the evaluation of the Initiative.

Putting Conservation Value in a Global Context

Hawksbill sea turtles have a global distribution that has been subdivided in to Regional Management Units (RMU). The Caribbean Hawksbill RMU, outlined in red in Figure 1, accounts for over half of the known global nesting sites for this Critically Endangered species. Over the past 100 years the Caribbean Hawksbills have experienced an 80% decline and the population is estimated to be at its historically low level at 12,500 nesting females. Through the implementation of this conservation plan, NFWF has an unique opportunity to help recover this remarkable sea turtle, by building on some welcome news from the field that suggests that the population decline is slowing and in some places like Barbados the population may even growing. Defining Our Conservation Goals and Objectives The business plan provides a 10-year investment strategy of $6.5 million to continue to stabilize the Caribbean hawksbill population and work to double the 2008 nesting population to 25,000 nesting

Figure 2. Estimated population curves based on investment strategy.

females by 2022. Achieving this goal will propel the population on a strong growth trajectory toward the long-term sustainability target of 75,000 nesting females in the population. NFWF jointly convened, in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society, five meetings of the regional experts on Caribbean Hawksbills to establish a sustainable population goal, define threats and map out the most strategic conservation activities to address these threats. This expert working group (EWG) began by defining a sustainable population goal for the RMU as at, or exceeding, the population level from three generations (roughly 100 years) ago. As Hawksbill turtles are a long-lived species which take 20-30+ years to reach reproductive maturity, the EWG recommended that an interim milestone for the 10 year business plan would be to show a measurable positive change in the current trajectory across the 14 beaches that represent 60% of the nesting productivity for this RMU. NFWF engaged 60 sea turtle managers and conservationists from 42 Caribbean countries/territories through the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) via a survey to assess the relative to the impact of three threats described above to the overall population and to identify priority geographies to focus mitigation efforts. The results of this survey prioritized the following actions to conserve the Caribbean Hawksbill population: 1. Reduce incidental capture in set net fishing gear: increase our knowledge on the impact of this

hazard to the Caribbean population, support incentive based approaches to the development and implementation of turtle friendly fishing gear, and improve surveillance in areas of concern.

2. Reduce direct exploitation of juveniles and adults in illegal fishing activities: provide training and

incentives for increased surveillance in areas where high concentrations of turtles and intensive fishing are known to overlap.

3. Reduce negative impacts of nesting beach habitat loss: assess the threat of habitat loss to the top

14 producing nesting beaches and the next 5 tier two beaches with the most growth potential; devise strategies based on this assessment to secure these nesting strongholds and prevent diminishing returns.

Proposed Investment Strategies The Foundation proposes the following investment strategies for reducing mortality during the in-water life stages of Caribbean hawksbill turtles, while preserving the quality of the most critical nesting beaches. Strategy I: Reducing Mortality from Bycatch in Set Nets This business plan seeks to implement this bycatch reduction strategy in four countries. Three of these countries (Mexico, Dominican Republic and Haiti) estimated their bycatch rates to be greater than 1,000 animals annually and one (Bahamas) reported their bycatch as completely unknown, but experts suspect

Figure 4. Example of previous assessment work identifying areas where fishing and high sea turtle densities overlap along the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. NFWF project #26228

that the bycatch number may exceed sustainable levels. Of the three countries that have identified high bycatch rates, NFWF has already begun in depth quantitative assessments in Mexico and the Dominican Republic to help further refine hotspot areas and to understand what mitigation strategies might be successful. During the first five years of the business plan, NFWF will support the completion of these assessments and then establish reduction targets and begin the implementation mitigation strategies for both of these countries. During the same period, NFWF will invest in assessments for Haiti and the Bahamas to further refine the rates of bycatch and identify potential hotspots within these countries, as well as opportunities for mitigation.

This strategy is projected to save at least 2,500 juvenile and adult turtles from bycatch mortality, or the reproductive equivalent of at least 600 nesting females, by the third year of implementation and a similar number annually starting in 2015 for a total impact of 4,800 nesting females saved.

A. Assessment of priority in-water hawksbill habitat and overlying fishing threats.

The overlap between fishing areas and sea turtle habitats such as feeding grounds, inter-nesting areas know to have high density of reproductively active turtles, and migratory corridors has led to high mortality of turtles in some places. Previous NFWF investments in Mexico and Dominican Republic have already begun to identify key areas of overlap and are establishing baseline levels of the threat. For these locations, NFWF will focus in on two hotspot fishing communities (Isla Mujeres and BajoBajos de Sisal in Mexico; Jaragua and Saona Island in the Dominican Republic) to build a quantitative threat assessment model that can be applied to other geographies, and to pilot fishermen engagement in mitigation efforts. Haiti and the Bahamas are data poor with socio-economic and political constraints that will threaten the success of conservation initiatives. Therefore, at these two locations, a broader country-wide assessment will be conducted to determine the magnitude of the problem, identify specific hotspot fishing communities, and explore the best strategies to pursue. Assessments at additional priority locations identified in the survey (e.g., Pearl Keys, Nicaragua) may become part of the investment strategy as additional information and resources become available.

B. Develop and pilot locally relevant turtle safe gear/methods

NFWF has a growing and successful history of testing and promoting 'safe' gear alternatives that allow fishing to continue without the negative impacts to untargeted catch. The primary gear of concern for Hawksbills is thought to be gill nets that are set in place overnight (set-nets) in the hope that fish will get tangled up by their gills in the mesh. These nets are hard to detect underwater and end up catching sea turtles. While no definitive gear solution has been widely adopted for set-nets, there are a number of gear modifications in development. Management solutions like closures and limiting the amount of time a net is left to “soak” in the water may also be relevant solutions in some cases. NFWF will support projects that work with local fishing communities and managers to devise the best solution for each case to eliminate bycatch or reduce it to sustainable levels.

Figure 5. Red circle depict pilot site for new sustainable enforcement strategy to address turtle fishing. This marine protected area is surrounded by hawksbill nesting sites including Chiriquí Beach which houses the third largest nesting assemblage for this RMU.

“The regional director of ANAM (the Panamanian version of USFWS) was conducting an official visit to Zapatilla Cays to see our [NFWF supported] turtle project in action. While boating out to meet with our team, he and his staff spotted an illegal turtle hunter. A hawksbill was already in the boat and the fishermen had been catching turtles inside the marine protected area. The director came ashore with the turtle and posed for this photo just before releasing it. It was one of the first times we were able to impress upon him the importance of stepping up patrols and enforcement in the region. Unfortunately, the agency remains chronically underfunded and the local guys have so little training that they only do patrols when our staff go out with them and pay for the gas. This is one of the major shortcomings that NFWF's new strategy would address.”

David Godfrey – Sea Turtle Conservancy

C. Increase in-water surveillance/monitoring and awareness about laws, penalties

Throughout the Caribbean region enforcement of existing fisheries and sea turtle protection laws is often weak to non-existent. This fuels the perception by fishers that there is no risk to them if they don’t comply with the laws. NFWF will invest in efforts that work with local fishing communities to prevent bycatch or turtles, and, where appropriate, invest in increased enforcement and surveillance to ensure compliance with existing laws. NFWF will draw upon other successful enforcement partnerships to assess and build sustainable surveillance and monitoring capacity at hotspot locations. Strategy II – Reduce mortality from directed fishing

While fishing for turtles has been illegal in most countries for many years, it is still considered a source of protein across the Caribbean region. Given that the threat of arrest or penalty is low for fishermen that intentionally catch sea turtles, they are often targeted directly or while pursuing other activities such as diving for lobster. While the problem is widespread, it is in Panama

where the estimated annual mortality from this threat greater than 1,000 turtles annually. As this is a relatively new strategy in our investment portfolio, in the first 3 years NFWF will pilot the strategy at a location in Panama that is an important inter-nesting area and migratory pathway for Hawksbills. The objective will be to build a model that can be replicated and expanded to address opportunistic fishing in Panama and other hotspots in the next 6 years of the initiative. The business plan targets a 50% reduction in “violations/unit of effort” by enforcement in the first three years of this strategy to be increased to 75% by 2018. Provided a replicable model is achieved by year 3, the business plan would seek to have an overall impact of saving 2,600 nesting females over the life of the plan. A. Increased park enforcement capacity

Inadequate enforcement of existing laws aimed at protecting Hawksbills is an important barrier to conservation in the region. Factors contributing to poor enforcement include low capacity to meet minimum enforcement needs (lack of boats, equipment, and fuel) and an overall lack of training about regulations and on best practices to conduct effective enforcement activities.

Figure 6. Map of the top 14 producing nesting beaches for the Caribbean Hawksbill RMU that makes up 60% of the nesting productivity.

NFWF has previous experience supporting training for enforcement personnel and helping to build enforcement capacity. This implementation activity will take place over the first 2 to 3 years of the initiative and focus on building the enforcement capacity of the managers of the Bastimentos Island National Marine Park in Panama through training, infrastructure support and by providing provide incentives to fishermen to comply with park regulations. B. Replicate the Model

While the park enforcement pilot program is being developed, NFWF will conduct an assessment of locations with similar characteristics – where improved enforcement of protected area regulations can benefit Hawksbills – to replicate the model. NFWF will also evaluate the potential of expanding this approach beyond the protected area boundaries.

Strategy III – Protection and enhancement of high quality nesting beaches Hawksbills, like all sea turtles, depend on quality nesting habitat for reproduction. Degraded or loss of habitat can deter use by nesting females and/or reduce hatch success. The quantity and quality of nesting beaches are threatened by a variety of human actions including, but not limited to, disturbances caused by presence human and animals such as dogs on the beach, light pollution, and coastal infrastructure. These activities are increasing across the Caribbean even in remote sites, largely due to economic pressures. The following three-part nesting beach protection and restoration strategy is designed to secure the top 14 nesting beaches for the Caribbean Hawksbill RMU which, together, host over 60% of the hatchling production for this RMU. Once these beaches are secure and the populations that use them are at sustainable and increasing levels, the focus will shift secondary beaches that, while not as high density currently, have the greatest capacity to increase nesting production if threats are abated. Through this strategy NFWF seeks to save 1,600 nesting females reproductive equivalents over the 10-year life of this business plan. A. Assess the threat of habitat loss to the high producing nesting beaches

A preliminary survey of threats to the top 14 hawksbill nesting beaches was conducted by NFWF to identify the type and the level of threat affecting these priority areas. Survey participants identified four main threats to nesting beaches described in Figure 7. The survey also indicated that some beaches (e.g., Mona Island in Puerto Rico) are already under excellent protection and have few threats to their future productivity. Other beaches (e.g., Barbados) are plagued with significant threats that must be addressed if the population is to recover. In order to identify cost effective solutions NFWF will conduct a more detailed assessment of the beaches where significant threats have been identified, and evaluate which activities would likely have the

greatest impact for increasing nest productivity of Caribbean Hawksbills.

Figure 7. Results of preliminary survey of 14 nesting beaches indicate a broad range of threats and severity of threats.

B. Develop models for sea turtle safe waterfront development practices

NFWF will identify which of the initial 14 priority beaches are the best candidates for testing turtle friendly waterfront development activities, taking into consideration the availability of data needed to evaluate conservation return on investment and the suitability of the site to serve as a model for other

beaches facing similar threats. For example, NFWF may look to support proactive coastal planning to promote more sustainable development that can co-exist with productive nesting beaches. For areas with existing development, NFWF will support best management practice models and case-studies to demonstrate that turtle safe practices can successfully be incorporated into industry business standards. C. Restore productivity on degraded priority nesting beaches NFWF will build on its 12 year history of successful international sea turtle nesting beach conservation to support a variety of mitigation activities to increase the quality of the habitat on priority Caribbean Hawksbill nesting beaches identified in Part A of this strategy. Mitigation will be tailored to beach specific threats and may include activities such as sea turtle safe lighting to reduce hatchling disorientation and dune restoration to stabilize beaches. Due to the high number of beaches and diverse threats in the region, the mitigation needs exceed the available budget. Therefore NFWF will pilot mitigation practices at sites with the greatest likelihood of directly increasing beach productivity and then support the transfer these models to other areas. In select cases, NFWF may invest in the removal of a significant barrier (e.g., a seawall) if the modification is sustainable and opens up a significant tract of priority nesting beach.

Initiative Budget

5-year Estimate

10-year Estimate

Strategy I: Reducing mortality from bycatch in set nets

Assess priority in-water Hawksbill habitat and overlying fishing threats $300,000 $600,000

Develop and pilot locally relevant turtle safe gear/methods as appropriate $600,000 $1,500,000

Increase in-water surveillance/monitoring and awareness about laws, penalties $200,000 $500,000

Strategy II: Reduce mortality from directed fishing

Increase park enforcement capacity $280,000 $600,000

Strategy III : Protection and enhancement of high quality nesting beaches

Assess the threat of habitat loss to the high producing nesting beaches $200,000 $300,000

Develop models for sea turtle safe development practices $400,000 $700,000

Increase productivity on priority nesting beaches where beaches have been degraded from human activities $500,000 $1,000,000

Monitoring and Evaluation

Strategy I bycatch reduction assessment (1-3 years + year 5 at 2 sites) $200,000 $500,000

Strategy II assessment (years 1, 3, 5, 8 of mitigation at 1 site) $100,000 $200,000

Strategy III assessment (years 2, 5, 8 of mitigation at 3-6 sites) $400,000 $600,000

Total $3,180,000 $6,500,000 Monitoring and Evaluation Determining whether the conservation plan described here is successful is predicated on NFWFs commitment to assessing both the performance of individual projects as well as the contribution of those projects and strategies towards the initiative outcomes. Accordingly, standardized metrics have been identified to measure achievement of priority activities and outcomes which will be incorporated into the NFWF scorecard format (see pg 10). Outcomes will be measured by the number of recruits to the population in a standardized reproductive equivalent (RRV) of nesting females – which are among the highest valued individuals in the population and the unit that many scientists consider the standard for monitoring population recovery . By standardizing this unit of measure, NFWF is able to compare the potential benefit of a project to protect turtle nests on the beach vs. a project to reduce bycatch at sea.

To standardize the value of projects

in the strategy, NFWF converted all

potential outcomes to a

standardized unit of Relative

Reproductive Value (RRV):

253 Hatchlings = 1 Nesting Female

4 Juveniles = 1 Nesting Female

1 3 Adult = 1 Nesting Female

The majority of the implementation activities will take place in years 2-6; however, monitoring of implementation progress, threat reduction, and valuation of sea turtle mitigation will be conducted throughout the ten-year period of the initiative. At the project level, individual grantees will monitor and provide an update on key activity and outcome metrics in annual and final reports. Further monitoring of sea turtle outcomes by third parties will also be employed where appropriate, including tapping into ongoing research and monitoring programs already active at priority sites. At the level of the overall recovery strategy, NFWF’s in-house evaluator will conduct an internal assessment in year 3 which will examine the latest progress on reduction of key threats and the estimated number of nesting female reproductive equivalents saved. Findings from this interim assessment will be used to inform future decision-making to ensure success. Towards the end of this strategy’s life cycle, a more comprehensive third-party evaluation will be conducted as part of the IUCN Red List assessment process by hawksbill experts to see if the future trajectory of the population has changed as projected. Acknowledgements Several individuals provided input to the Caribbean Hawksbill Business Plan and we would like to thank them for their expertise and input in developing this investment strategy . Specifically we would like to thank Cathi Campbell and Karl Didier from the Wildlife Conservation Society who drafted the first version of the business plan and Marydele Donnelly of the Sea Turtle Conservancy and Karen Eckert of the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network for additional insights and coordination assistance. Finally we would like to acknowledge the hawksbill experts from the Caribbean region that joined NFWF in developing threats, strategies, results chains and population goals for this population. The Expert Working Group participants who contributed to this report were: Eduardo Cuevas F. - Pronatura Península de Yucatán, Carlos Diez - Dept. of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico, Karen Eckert – WIDECAST: Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network, Julia Horrocks – University of West Indies, Cynthia Lagueux – Wildlife Conservation Society, Yolanda León - Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo & Grupo Jaragua, Rozenn Le Scao – Martinique Office Nacional de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Anne Meylan – Florida Marine Research Institute and Félix Moncada G. – Cuba Fisheries Research Center (with assistance from José Gerhartz of WWF-Netherlands in Cuba).

Strategy Activity Metric Goal Notes

Species Outcome Population # individuals 22,500 Nesting females; Caribbean population

Habitat Restoration Nesting Beach Habitat Quality Improvements

Miles Restored 40

15,045 miles make up the 14 priority nesting beaches for this population. Initial survey indicates 40-80 miles are in need of restoration efforts. This goal will be finalized after the nesting beach assessment is complete to see where NFWF can be most effective.

Species-specific Strategies

Reduction in by-catch

# of turtles saved through use of safer gear or

fishing practices

2,500 Relevant to NFWF hotspot investment geographies identified in Strategy I.

Capacity, Outreach, Incentives

Outreach/ Education/ Technical Assistance

# individuals demonstrating a

minimum threshold of

behavior change

TBD

Number of fishermen across priority ports identified in Strategy I and number coastal land owners and planners across top 14 nesting beaches targeted in Strategy II (numbers to be determined after bycatch and nesting beach assessment are complete)


Outreach/ Education/ Technical Assistance

# individuals reached by

outreach, training, or technical assistance activities

TBD

Number of fishermen across priority ports identified in Strategy I and number coastal land owners and planners across top 14 nesting beaches targeted in Strategy II (numbers to be determined after bycatch and nesting beach assessment are complete)


Building institutional

capacity

# FTE with sufficient training and skills engaged

in conservation activities;

10

Enforcement officers that complete the training for addressing directed fishing in Strategy II - Additional training may be required for enforcement officers and managers during the implementation of the bycatch and beach quality strategies and the expansion of the directed fishing strategy which will be determined after site specific assessments of these threats.


Enforcement / Compliance with existing

regs

Catch per unit effort

50 % reduction of violations per unit effort of enforcement at pilot site for directed fishing, Strategy II


Enforcement / Compliance with existing

regs

Miles with a minimum level of

enforcement presence

TBD

Patrol coverage goal for pilot site in Strategy II. Additional enforcement investments may be tracked through Strategies I & III which will be added to the goal if it is identified through the assessments as a need.

Planning, Research, Monitoring

BMP development

# BMP recommendations

developed 2

Development of BMPs for bycatch hotspot locations already identified in Strategy I. Additional needs may be identified as other hotspots are assessed and as the nesting beach mitigation needs are determined.


Research # research studies

completed 7

Assessments to prioritize specific geographies for mitigation efforts in hotspot countries as called for in Strategies I-III.


Monitoring

# monitoring programs

established or underway

4 Includes monitoring plans for threat reduction in strategies I & II and an annual nesting female monitoring program at the 14 Index sites to evaluate impact over time to the broader population.

rebuilding caribbean hawksbill populations

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