CONSERVATION:
Large amounts of suitable wetland habitat and consequently low human population have benefited this species. Skin, however, is very valuable, although not as much as the skin of C. porosus. Initial over-hunting and non-sustainable harvesting in the 1950s and '60s led to legislation being introduced in the 1970s to start a regulated management program based around cropping and ranching. The benefits of this sustainable use go towards the traditional landowners, who still own most of the land in PNG. Crocodile eggs and hatchlings are also harvested and sold to raising facilities in exchange for both cash and chicken eggs. Harvesting programs can only succeed in conjunction with an organised monitoring program, and such a program has been running for some years in PNG with a very good set of data available. Such a program is now being initiated in Irian Jaya, together with an effective program to cut down on illegal trade, through the formation of a Crocodile Management Task Force which exists in conjunction with CITES. For a species once threatened with extinction, the establishment of successful ranching and control programs have contributed greatly to its recovery. This management will be refined in the near future.
MORE INFORMATION:
For more information on distribution and conservation issues for this species,see the CSG Action Plan resource.
SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES:
Hall, P & Johnson, DR (1987). Nesting biology of Crocodylus novaeguineae in Lake Murray District, Papua New Guinea. Herpetologica 43: 249-258
Hall, PM (1989). Variation in geographic isolates of the New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae Schmidt) compared with the similar, allopatric, Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis Schmidt). Copeia 1989(1): 71-80
Hall, PM (1991). Estimation of nesting female crocodilian size from clutch characteristics: correlates of reproductive mode, and harvest implications. J. Herpetology 25(2): 133-141
Hall, PM & Portier, KM (1994). Cranial morphology of New Guinea (Crocodylus novaeguineae) crocodiles: ontogenetic variation in relative growth of the skull and an assessment of its utility as a predictor of the sex and size of individuals. Herpetological Monographs 8: 203-225
Solmu, GC (1994). Status of Crocodylus porosus and Crocodylus novaeguineae populations in Papua New Guinea, 1981-1994. In: Crocodiles. Proceedings of the 12th Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. pp. 77-102