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

CEP Technical Report No. 17
from the Wider Caribbean the tortoiseshell from nearly 12,000 adult hawksbills (Canin, 1989).
St. Kitts/Nevis has allegedly participated in this trade in recent years. Japanese import statistics
show that 136 kg of tortoiseshell was received from St. Kitts/Nevis in 1990 (Canin, 1991). The
average yield per hawksbill is 1.34 kg in the Caribbean (Milliken and Tokunaga, 1987); thus the
export that year represented a minimum of 100 turtles. Fisheries Division personnel have no
knowledge of any such trade and consider it impossible that these turtles were exported from St.
Kitts/Nevis. Since it is highly unlikely that the local population of hawksbills could supply this
amount of shell, the most plausible explanation is that St. Kitts/Nevis, a non-party to CITES
[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora], was named
as the port of export even though the shell did not actually originate here. This practice is not
uncommon among unscrupulous dealers trying to evade CITES restrictions (Canin, 1991).
Over the past decade, a modest level of export of turtle products has taken place between
St. Kitts/Nevis and neighbouring islands. Meylan (1983) described an "active market" in Nevis.
In 1980, a buyer in Charlestown was purchasing shell from fishermen around the island for US$
16/kg and reselling it to a dealer from St. Lucia. The price in 1983 ranged from US$ 16-24.
Other buyers from Puerto Rico, Dominica, and Guadeloupe periodically canvassed the fishermen
at their homes for raw shell material. Wilkins and Barrett (1987) also noted the "occasional sale"
of shells to buyers from neighbouring islands. Barrett (1988) reported, "Turtles are slaughtered
and sold by fishermen themselves to the public, hoteliers, and restaurants on the island. A total
of 1000 pounds [of meat was] exported to St. Barthelemew. The hawksbill shells are sold to
local craftsmen for EC$ 30 per pound. . . . Some of the shells were also exported to St.
Barthelemew." In October 1991, several sources reported to the NHCS that 1400 lb (636 kg) of
turtle meat had been exported to a buyer in St. Barthelemew. It was common knowledge
amongst Nevis divers, fishermen, and Fisheries personnel interviewed for this report that turtle
meat is routinely sold to neighbouring islands, especially St. Barthelemew, but also St. Martin
and perhaps others. Meat sells in Nevis for EC$ 3-5/lb, but a fishermen reportedly earn about
US$ 5/lb by selling it through a middleman in St. Barthelemew. Turtle meat sometimes leaves
the country by air (labeled simply, "meat") and other times by boat.
3.4 Inadequate Regulatory Mechanisms
National fisheries legislation was in force between 1948 and 1992 that protected small
sea turtles (under 20 lb, or 9 kg) and established a closed season between 1 June-30 September.
For a variety of reasons, this legislation was inadequate to prevent a significant decline in local
sea turtle populations. First, the closed season did not encompass peak nesting periods (1
April-30 November) and thus allowed the continued harvest of gravid females. In addition, by
protecting only very young (small) turtles, the most valuable members of the population (i.e., the
large juveniles and adults) could be legally taken eight months of the year. We now know that
population stability depends on high rates of survival for large juvenile and adult turtles that have
already endured the two decades or more needed to reach maturity (or near-maturity). Second,
enforcement was nonexistent and fishermen often disregarded the regulations (CCA, 1991).
d'Arbeau (1989) described the closed season as "generally ineffective" and reported green turtle
meat for sale in St. Kitts during the closed season.
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