Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
sighting data for marine mammals were received from Ms. Stephani Holzwarth (NOAA), but were
located outside of the study area map view. Dr. Steven Kolinski (NMFS-PIRO) has been asked to
provide any opportunistic sighting data for sea turtles collected during this cruise in the hopes that
records can be included in a future version of the MRA.
Aerial surveys for sea turtles have been conducted around Guam since the mid-1970s. Between
1975 and 1979, the entire coastline of Guam, except for areas within Apra Harbor, was surveyed on a
monthly basis (Pritchard 1995). The next known sets of aerial surveys began in 1989 and have
continued on a yearly basis until the present (Davis n.d.; Cummings 2002). These data were not
available for inclusion in this MRA. It is not known whether the sightings from these surveys are
available in coordinate (latitude/longitude) form or whether they are simply counts of sea turtles by
survey region or transect.
Mr. Scott Vogt, Navy Pacific Division, provided sea turtle counts from monthly surveys at FDM
(sightings) and Tinian (nestings) between 1997 and 2004.His documentation of nesting beaches was
used to develop turtle nesting maps shown in Chapter 3.2. Mr. Scott Vogt also provided a synopsis of
marine mammal sightings during his surveys over FDM including Vogt (2004).
Mr. Joseph Ruak, CNMI DFW, provided sea turtle nesting records for Saipan between 1997 and
2003. However, the data were not in the preferred format and were only received recently. Thus, they
could not be included in the MRA at this time. It is hoped that this data can be included in a future
version of the MRA, but much work would need to be done to match up the nesting records with the
actual beaches on which they occurred. Sea turtle nesting records by beach name have a much
lower level of accuracy than nesting records presented by geographic (latitude/longitude) coordinates.
Mr. Jay Gutierrez, Guam DAWR, is the project leader of the Guam Sea Turtle Recovery Program.
Nesting data for the island of Guam were requested, but not received. Mr. Gutierrez did, however,
provide a copy of the latest annual progress report which describes the nest monitoring program at
Guam and the eight stretches of beach that are regularly surveyed for sea turtle nesting activity.
Literature Cited
Anonymous. 1962. Real dead 'Moby Dick' washed ashore. Guam Daily News, 7 September, pp. 1, 11.
Anonymous. 1974. Dugong seen in Cocos Lagoon. Pacific Daily News, 20 February, p. 11.
Becker, P.R., D. Wilkinson, and T.I. Lillestolen. 1994. Marine mammal health and stranding response
program: Program development plan. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-94-2:1-35.
Berggren, B. 1996. Whale of a good time. Pacific Daily News, 10 January, p. 1.
Birkeland, C. 1977. Surrounded by whales. Islander, 12 June, pp. 13-15.
Bordallo, A. 1965. The whale. Pacific Profile 3(4):22-23.
Brownell, R.L., Jr., P.J. Clapham, T. Miyashita, and T. Kasuya. 2001. Conservation status of North Pacific
right whales. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. Special Issue 2:269-286.
CNMI DFW (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife). 2004.
Humpback whales migrating through NMI waters. Accessed 17 January 2005. http://www.dfw.gov
.mp/admin/news2-12-04.htm.
Cummings, V. 2002. Sea turtle conservation in Guam. Pages 37-38 in I. Kinan, ed. Proceedings of the
Western Pacific Sea Turtle Cooperative Research and Management Workshop. Honolulu,
Hawaii: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.
Darling, J.D., and K. Mori. 1993. Recent observations of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in
Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa. Canadian Journal of Zoology 71:325-333.
Davis, G. n.d. Guam turtle history. Mangilao: Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources.
Davis, K. 1978. A whale tale. Pacific Daily News, 1 September, pp. 1, 4.
DoN (Department of the Navy). 2001. Year 2001 assessment of marine and fisheries resources: Farallon
de Medinilla, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Final report. Contract no. N62742-
99-D-1807; DO 0019. Prepared by Belt Collins Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.