T-PVS (99) 73
Up-date Report and Review of the Status of the Nile soft-shelled Turtle, Trionyx triunguis, in Turkey. Report for the 19th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention). Report prepared by an independent wildlife consultant commissioned by MEDASSET The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles September, 1999
The setting The Nile soft-shelled turtle, Trionyx triunguis, occurs in the eastern Mediterranean, where it is seriously threatened. It was included in Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats in December 1996. The strongest populations in the Mediterranean are found in Turkey, with additional populations occurring in Israel, Egypt, Syria and the Lebanon (plus a single record in Greece). Already in 1991, the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats recommended that the Government of Turkey ensures protection of all important populations of Trionyx triunguis (recommendation no. 26, 6 December 1991). During a progress review in 1994, Turkey reported both achievements and difficulties in putting this recommendation into practice. The Group of Experts subsequently decided that recommendation no. 26 should be still valid and should be considered a national priority. The Trionyx issue was again on the agenda of the Standing Committee Meetings in 1996 and 1997, but as no adequate progress was shown in the protection of this species, MEDASSET commissioned an independent wildlife expert in 1998 to carry out a field survey in Turkey and to review conservation needs and progresses. As the report was inadequately discussed in the 1998 Standing Committee Meeting, and no conclusion as to open a file on this species was drawn, MEDASSET continued its efforts in assessing the status and conservation needs of this species in the Mediterranean in 1999.
Population Status During a new field survey carried out by MEDASSET in summer 1999, two formerly unknown population were found: !
Mouth of Aksu River and Acisu (east of Antalya): Whereas soft-shelled turtles are only rarely found in Aksu and the nearby sea, they occur regularly in the lower course of Acisu which is situated some 1.5 km to the west of Aksu. Acisu is a small, somewhat brackish water body close to the sea. It is also called Üzlü or Kundu in its upper course, and has no regular outlet to the sea; during most times of the year, sand dunes close up the connection between the river and the sea. The area where soft-shelled turtles are found is relatively small, about 1 km long, and situated next to the sea. There are interactions between the turtles and fishermen who come to Acisu for fishing. Fishermen reported that soft-shelled turtles are destroying fishing nets, but they also claimed that they do not harm or kill them. According to local fishermen, soft-shelled turtles of all sizes occur, indicating that the species reproduces here. There are two tourist installations (one luxury hotel and a summer facility of the Turkish Ministry of Justice) between Aksu and Acisu; it appears that they do not harm the turtle populations.
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River mouth of Köprü River (Köprü Çayi) and Acisu (west of Manavgat): The population of soft-shelled turtles in Köprü River and the nearby Acisu seems to be smaller than in Aksu/Acisu. In the lower course of Köprü River, soft-shelled turtles were reported by fishermen to occur rarely, although the lower river course provides suitable habitats including mud, sand and shingle banks, oxbows, islands, etc. The occurrence of soft-shelled turtles in the nearby Acisu