MOHADIN: 



FRAZER; 



CINTRON; 



FRAZER; 



CRUZ; 



According to N. Frazer's model, if taking sea 

 turtles is necessary, then eggs should be taken. 

 How many eggs can be safely taken? 



First natural destruction would have to be 

 determined and human taking would have to be 

 limited to that level. If eggs and the other 

 stages are harvested, any harvest of eggs is too 

 high. If the other stages are protected then some 

 eggs can be taken. However, under this model any 

 takings will eventually deplete the resource. 

 This will take longer if only the eggs are 

 harvested. He wanted to make it clear that he was 

 not recommending any harvesting. 



Basically the more endangered a species is, the 

 fewer the available options other than complete 

 protection. Developing a model and an adequate 

 data base takes time. These resources are near 

 biological depletion. How do we apply here a 

 model that was developed in Woods Hole? This 

 model uses many subjective evaluations, perhaps 

 some are not correct. If the model were applied 

 to a healthy resource, we might be able to recover 

 from any mistakes. However, if the model were 

 applied to a depleted resource, we may end up 

 making the situation worse. 



N. Foster's approach was favored. Management 

 realities have to be faced. Models should not 

 take the place of common sense. 



Any management scheme has a model. What is 

 important is that the assumptions that are made 

 are specified so that others can see what our 

 mistakes are. Mathematical models will not solve 

 all of our problems. 



Highlighting the accuracy of the information is 

 important, the situation must be accurately known. 

 Some turtle mortality is due to shrimp trawling, 

 poaching and pollution. However, the principal 

 cause is not certain. 



Extreme measures, such as the moratorium, may do 

 more harm than good. The taking of sea turtles in 

 Mexico was greatest after these takings were 

 prohibited. 



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