Worrying turtle-poaching increase

From March through September, turtle-watchers enjoy a prime season as these creatures end a vast ocean journey to make their way out of the surf, dig deep into the sand and lay their eggs.

This country has the honour of hosting five of the seven species of sea turtles in the world, including the giant leatherback turtle.

The collapse of tourism, because of covid19, reduced visitors to the beaches to view turtles. But that doesn’t explain why systems that ensure sea turtles continue to be protected should lapse.

At a webinar on Thursday, Dr Michelle Cazabon-Mannette, director at SpeSeas, warned of an increase in poaching throughout TT.

Dr Cazabon-Mannette called on the public to report infringements to the police and to the Environmental Management Authority (EMA).

The environmental police unit is reported to be understaffed, and a Sea Turtle Task Force promised since 2014, operating under the guidance of the EMA, is still to be implemented.

The task force is expected to have representatives from several NGOs and related agencies with a mandate to create a unified and more effective engagement with the challenges of sea turtle conservancy.

It’s regrettable that after six years, there is still no date set for the establishment of the task force, and the continuing danger facing our previous visiting sea turtle population suggests that the project should be given greater priority and funding.

TT is not the only nesting site with considerable challenges.

In 2016, Mexico’s considerable coastlines on both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans announced a decline of almost 80 per cent in turtle populations nesting over two decades.

The Yucatan Peninsula alone reported a 63 per cent five-year decrease in nests, from 6,400 to 2,400, by 2004.

Some of the decline is attributed to environmental damage by storms, but much of the drop was caused by human development that hampered or denied nesting.

This country is fortunate that many of the nesting zones are in remote locations and that communities in those areas have come to understand that a thriving population of living turtles offers a more sustainable livelihood than they did in a pot.

That understanding should be reinforced by state-level support and development efforts that integrates nature conservation and animal protection more effectively into our eco-tourism portfolio.

Legislation is in place to offer better protection for sea turtles, but laws must be backed by a willingness and capacity to enforce them.

But we shouldn’t need to be protecting turtles from two-legged predators because they are a valuable asset. We should be doing it because it’s the responsible and humane thing to do. And we should be doing it right now.