Trochus are most abundant on the outer edge of the barrier or 

 fringing reef in depths to two fathoms. It is said that they prefer 

 places where seaweed is present. 



Collection of trochus shells was given over to the natives, who 

 were permitted to harvest individuals over 3 inches base diameter 

 during a two-week period in May or June. "Japanese paid from 10 to 

 15 Sen each, the total production being shipped to Japan for making 

 common pearl buttons. Statistics are not available showing increase 

 in production following transplantings. In 1939 the catch seems to 

 have been in excess of 125 tons of shells, of which about 100 tons 

 were taken in the Palaus. No collections were made from 1942 to 1946. 

 In the latter year the U. S. Commercial Company purchased shells from 

 natives at Tap, Saipan, the Palaus, Truk (figure 30) and Ponope, 

 amounting to something over a hundred tons. There is every reason to 

 expect that future production may be 50 percent higher than pre-war. 



Sea Turtles — Tortoise Shell. -Both the hawksbUl, Chelone imbricata, 

 and the green turtle, Chelone mydas or japonica . are found throughout 

 the area, but more abundantly in the Carolines, less so in the Mar- 

 shall s and Marianas. Females come ashore on sandy beaches during 

 late spring and early summer to deposit their eggs, numbering up to 

 150. A hole is dug in the sand above high water mark, the eggs laid 

 in and covered, then left to be incubated by the sun. The young 

 hatch out at the end of 60 days and immediately take to the water. 



The hawksbill, being carnivorous, is not highly regarded for food 

 as the flesh spoils quickly, but the large horny scutes, or plates, 

 on the back constitute the "tortoise shell* 1 of commerce. Market value 

 of the plates depend on their coloration and thickness, plain dark 

 plates having less value than ones with a greater proportion of light 

 area. 



Turtle fishing was mostly a native pursuit, about 200 hawksbill 

 being taken annually by spearing or netting around Truk, Ponape and 

 the Palaus. Japanese paid from 100 to 160 ¥en per kilogram for the 

 cleaned back shells according to a native at Ponape. This would be 

 a rate of 11 to 18 dollars per pound. Price fixed by Naval Military 

 Government, Summer 1946, was from 36 to 60 cents per pound. 



The Japanese had strict laws protecting the hawksbill. No turtles 

 or their eggs could be taken on shore, nor could any turtle be taken 

 measuring less than 60 centimeters (24 inches) in length. 



The green turtle has no commercial value in the islands, but being 

 herbivorous, is highly regarded for food. The common method of cooking 

 is to bake the animal in its shell. The Japanese identified the green 

 turtle as Chelone .laponica . Thunberg, but it probably is identical 

 with the Philippine species, C. mydas . Linn. 



41 



