Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for St. Kitts and Nevis - WIDECAST

CEP Technical Report No. 17
ABSTRACT
Three species of sea turtle, all internationally classified as endangered species, nest on the
beaches of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis. These are the hawksbill (Eretmochelys
imbricata), green (Chelonia mydas), and leatherback or river turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). In
addition to seasonal nesting, hawksbills and green turtles of varying sizes can be seen throughout
the year feeding in shallow waters. The leatherback is not resident; gravid females arrive each
year for a summer nesting season. A fourth species, the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), is
occasionally observed offshore. The documented harvest of sea turtles in the federation dates
back to 1603 when a work party dispatched to Nevis described a "Tortoyse so big that foure men
could not get her into the Boate". The 18th century letters of William Smith declare green turtles
to be "so common that they need no description." There is no doubt that the ubiquitous sea
turtles were an important part of diet and commerce during the centuries of colonial occupation.
Today there are far fewer turtles than there were four or five decades ago. They have
been both netted at sea and killed on the nesting beach. Turtle hunters and observers familiar
with the fishery disagree on the exact number of turtles currently harvested per year, but it
appears likely that 50-100+ turtles, mostly greens and hawksbills, are landed annually on each of
the two islands. The number of nets set and the number of hunters who await gravid
(egg-bearing) females on the nesting beaches is considerably lower than at any time in the past.
The number of part-time turtle fishermen is estimated to be less than ten on each island. The
number of spearfishermen landing sea turtles is growing, however, and this is viewed as a
serious threat. The collection of eggs is unquantified but approaches 100% in some areas. There
is no legislation governing the harvest of turtles or their eggs at the present time, but the draft
Fisheries Regulations of 1992 call for a moratorium on the capture of turtles and the collection of
eggs. Such a moratorium is fully supported by this Recovery Action Plan.
The most significant stress on local turtle populations has been a virtually unregulated
harvest. The consequences of over-harvest are nowhere more evident than on the nesting
beaches. There is a consensus that the beaches once supported many more nests than are seen
today. Too many of the federation's breeding females have been killed and their eggs taken. It is
self-evident that if eggs are not allowed to produce hatchlings, there will not be a next generation
of turtles to lay their own eggs. The reason there are fewer turtles at sea is that the over-harvest
has not been confined to St. Kitts and Nevis. All Caribbean nations have participated. Turtles
born in St. Kitts and Nevis do not remain resident in our waters through the many years (usually
20-35) required to reach sexual maturity. Instead, they travel throughout the region during their
adolescence and return to their natal beaches only when it is time to breed. Thus, the juveniles
feeding offshore in coral reefs and sea grass meadows represent the young produced on nesting
beaches throughout the Caribbean Sea, whereas the females on our nesting beaches were born
here many years ago and migrate "home" every 2-3 years to lay their own eggs.
The objectives of this Recovery Action Plan are to explain the biology of sea turtles, to
provide an overview of the status and distribution of sea turtles in St. Kitts and Nevis, and to
recommend conservation actions designed to promote the recovery of depleted stocks. In addi-
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