Lady Vini arrives in Fiji
Her Seven Month Journey
1 November 2006
© SPREP/ Lui Bell.
Lady Vini, a hawksbill turtle satellite tagged out of Samoa and now known to be in Fiji.
Suva, Fiji Islands - Lady Vini, a female hawksbill turtle tagged in Samoa in March of this year, has arrived in Fijian waters. She was tagged to mark the launch of the 2006 Pacific Year of the Sea Turtle (YOST) as part of a monitoring programme that tracks the movements of 4 turtles throughout the region. Her 7 month journey has taken her from Samoa to American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Wallis and Futuna before passing through the feeding ‘hot-spot’ of Fiji. Her last known satellite transmission was from waters off Vanua Levu. One month per country makes her travels a truly remarkable journey.
The Pacific is home to six of the world’s seven turtle species, five of which are threatened with extinction. Hawksbill turtles like Lady Vini are listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals. Traditionally hunted in the Pacific as part of subsistence living, increasing human populations, the introduction of new fishing technology, pollution and loss of feeding and nesting habitats in the Pacific have resulted in reduced turtle numbers.
The Pacific YOST is a regional campaign run by Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)that aims to reverse this rapid decline in turtle numbers. As turtles are migratory and move around the oceans, these animals do not belong to any one country; therefore conservation of these graceful sea creatures requires regional participation and collaboration.
© SPREP/ NOAA. Lady Vini's movements throughout the Pacific region tracked via satellite.
The satellite turtle tracking programme is being coordinated by SPREP in collaboration with the Marine Turtle Research Programme, NOAA, in Hawaii. After Samoa in March, tagging in the 3 remaining localities - French Polynesia, Fiji and Tonga - will take place in November and December of this year to coincide with their peak nesting seasons: the programme targets nesting turtles as they migrate after nesting. Information gathered through this regional monitoring programme will facilitate the development of management strategies for the protection of turtles.
WWF-Fiji is actively involved in the 2006 YOST campaign, and works with SPREP and the local Fisheries Ministry to raise awareness on the endangered status of this iconic marine reptile.
says Penina Solomona, WWF South Pacific’s Regional Marine Officer.
For further information:
Penina Solomona, WWF South Pacific Regional Marine Officer, t +679 331 5533, e psolomona@wwfpacific.org.fj
Editor’s notes:
- Her name: Vini is the name of the beach on the Aleipata offshore island of Nuutele, Samoa, where she was tagged going to nest.
- Satellite tagging: is one of the priority actions identified for the 2006 Year of the Sea Turtle (YOST) campaign under the SPREP regional Marine Turtle Action Plan 2003-2007. The plan calls for the incorporation of a satellite-tagging programme into YOST with tag releases by multiple member countries to emphasise the shared nature of turtle stocks. In addition, satellite tagging will provide the needed data where not known or available, in particular the movement of nesting turtles after nesting.
- The programme: the current turtle satellite programme is a collaborative undertaking by SPREP, the Marine Turtle Research Program (NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Hawaii), and member countries and partners. Dr George Balazs is the Head of the Marine Turtle Research Program, NOAA.
- Website tracking: Lady Vini's movements can be tracked on the following website address: http://www.sprep.org/yost/topics/YOST-Ttracking.htm