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

St. Kitts and Nevis Sea Turtles…
specifically for this purpose". The catch that year (47 turtles, mostly female hawksbills) was low
(Barrett, 1988). There are no comparable data for St. Kitts. From interviews conducted during
the development of this Recovery Action Plan, the authors estimate that the catch may approach
100 turtles per year in St. Kitts and that this has been the case for most of the 1980's. While
there are relatively few "turtle fishermen", most likely less than 10, an increasing number of
spear-fishermen are targeting turtles whenever the opportunity arises.
In the past, most turtles were captured in nets designed to ensnare them. The nets ranged
from 50-75 feet in length and 7-10 feet deep, with a mesh size of 8-10 inches. Some turtles were
taken during nesting. Some turtle fishermen claim that by watching the sky, such as for
"pitching stars", they could predict when a turtle was likely to nest. Today the tradition of
staying up all night waiting to capture egg-bearing turtles on the nesting beach continues in both
St. Kitts and Nevis, especially in the "turtle villages" (e.g., Sandy Point, Cayon, Keys) of St.
Kitts. Eggs are routinely collected on both islands. It is widely claimed that virtually every egg
is harvested and either shared with friends or, more rarely, sold. Turtles are also taken from the
sea. Large-mesh turtle nets are regularly set by Nevisian fishermen in Nevisian waters and in the
bays of the Southeast Peninsula (Audra Barrett, Assistant Fisheries Officer, pers. comm., 1992).
Turtle nets are rarely set by Kittitian fishermen. A significant number of fishermen and
recreational divers take turtles opportunistically, in and out of season, by spearing. The
opportunistic take is certain to be higher than the directed take at the present time. Many of
those captured are under-sized (turtles less than 20 lb (9 kg) are protected; see section 4.21).
According to Kenneth Samuel, native Kittitian, former turtle hunter and long-time diver,
the hawksbill turtle is becoming rare in St. Kitts, at least in Caribbean (south shore) waters. The
few individuals once seen around the Talata wreck in Basseterre Harbour were lost about three
years ago when a local fishermen set his nets on the wreck. Samuel knows of only one site (the
River Taw wreck) where they have been regularly seen in recent years. Other divers and
fishermen contend that there are several shallow reef sites where hawksbills are observed. No
one, however, disputes a serious decline in numbers over the course of recent decades. Twenty
years ago, hunters would let a female nest up to six times on South Friar's Beach before killing
her "and the attending male" (K. Samuel, pers. comm., 1992). In contrast, not a single nest was
reported on South Friar's Beach from 29 June-12 August 1992. When Samuel became involved
in dive-tourism and realised the extent to which marine resources were deteriorating, he gave up
turtle hunting. Similarly, Charles Solas recalls that in years past he had his choice of six or more
leatherbacks per night on the Atlantic beaches of St. Kitts; now many nights go by during the
nesting season before a female comes ashore. There are beaches on both islands where nesting
occurred in the past, but no longer. Today turtle hunting is largely a past-time, a cultural
tradition, for participating fishermen. There are no full-time turtle fishermen.
From 1948-1992, regulations were in force to regulate the harvest of sea turtles. The
Turtle Ordinance of 1948 protected turtles less than 20 lb (9 kg) and prohibited the killing, sale
or possession of any turtle product between 1 June and 30 September. During the open season
the meat of both hawksbill and green turtles was sold mostly to hotel restaurants; the shells were
often used for wall decorations or jewelry. Today most restaurants refuse to buy turtle meat,
some in deference to the endangered status of local and regional populations. There is a limited
market on St. Kitts for oil rendered from the leatherback, which is used for medicinal purposes.
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