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Cheloniid turtles are characterised by a complicated life history: their eggs are laid on warm beaches; hatchling sex is determined temperature dependent sex determination during embryonic development; lack of parental care; hatchlings are imprinted to the natal area; hatchlings disperse to feed on plankton in the pelagic environments followed by inshore recruitment to feed on benthic organisms; immature turtles have slow growth and delayed maturation; adults migrate to breed in their respective natal area; they lay multiple clutches in a breeding season but dot normally breed annually; adults display high fidelity to both their respective breeding and the feeding areas and have an extended adult life (Hirth. 1997).

The baseline assessment provides a current status report on the coastal marine resources of Niue. It offers recommendations for the management options available to address the concerns of local villagers with respect to deterioration of coastal resources. The lessons learned from the pilot project are expected to have national importance and should provide a guide to the best approach to sustainable fisheries management for all of Niue.