Abstract Management of wildlife use by communities
living a partially traditional lifestyle is usually more successful
when the interactions between those communities and
the environment are well understood. We mapped the harvest
areas for the Vulnerable pig-nosed turtle Carettochelys
insculpta for six language-groups in the Kikori region of
Papua New Guinea and compared harvest parameters between
different areas and language-groups and, when possible,
between 1980–1982 and 2007–2009. Spatially, the main
influence on harvest method was a tribe’s location relative
to the turtle’s distribution. No small juveniles (, 20 cm
straight-line carapace length) were found outside the Kikori
delta, which is probably the species’ feeding grounds. In
contrast, nesting females were captured only in upstream
and coastal sandbank areas. Temporally there were distinct
differences in harvesting parameters between tribes, which
may be explained by differential employment opportunities.
To halt the decline of pig-nosed turtles in the Kikori region
we recommend the establishment of beach and feedingground
protection initiatives, together with monitoring
of the turtle population and harvest. Concomitantly, trips
specifically targeted at harvesting the turtles, which account
for 81% of the animals captured, need to be restricted. These
initiatives should include all six language-groups and take
into account their specific harvesting patterns.