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

St. Kitts and Nevis Sea Turtles…
It is a recommendation of this Recovery Action Plan that beach cleaning, when
necessary, be done using hand tools such as shallow rakes and not heavy machinery or devices
that deeply incise the sand. The uppermost eggs in a green or leatherback turtle nest commonly
incubate 20 cm (8 inches) or more beneath the surface of the beach. In contrast, hawksbills
construct shallow nests in which eggs are protected by less than 10 cm (4 inches) of overlying
sand. Damage to incubating eggs (or hatchlings awaiting an evening emergence) is easily caused
by compaction or puncture from mechanized beach cleaning techniques. If raking seaweeds by
tractor or other heavy machinery is inevitable, this activity should be confined to beach zones
below the mean high tide line in order to avoid the compaction of sand above incubating eggs.
Repeated compaction will kill developing embryos and tyre ruts can trap hatchlings crawling
across the beach to the sea. Some commercial establishments, such as the Turtle Beach Bar and
Grill, periodically remove thick mats of beached sea grass using a tractor. Since the beach is
used by hawksbill turtles, care is taken not to allow the tractor to operate above the high tide
mark where nests are made (R. Pereira, pers. comm., 1991).
It is a recommendation of this Recovery Action Plan that driving cars and trucks on
sandy beaches be forbidden in St. Kitts/Nevis because their weight crushes eggs and can kill
developing or newly hatched turtles. In addition, tyre ruts are unsightly and create hazards for
hatchlings trying to reach the sea. The tiny turtles fall into the ruts, which generally run parallel
to the sea, and because they cannot get out they die in the morning sun or become an easy meal
for a predator. Many of the beaches on St. Kitts are routinely driven on by vehicles of all kinds.
Sand Bank Bay (an important nesting beach; see section 4.112) in particular has become a
compact roadway with heavy use by residents and tourists. As many as 15-20 cars are seen
parked or driving on this beach on weekends. Cars are rarely driven on the beaches of Nevis, but
Windward Beach near Red Cliff is an exception ("it is often driven on by fishermen and even
more frequently by tourists and residents seeking recreational access to the beach"; R. Young,
pers. comm., 1992). A locally-owned vehicle was observed driving south along the length of
Pinneys Beach to the Beachcomber restaurant in October 1992 (K. Eckert, pers. obs.).
A public information campaign has been initiated by the SEP staff to discourage people
from driving on the beaches. Signs have been erected on many SEP beaches, announcements
made on radio and television, notices printed in the newspapers, and fliers distributed to car
rental agencies. Unfortunately, the driving continues. The last alternative may be to prevent
access by blocking the terminus of beach access roads.
4.135 Beach rebuilding projects
Beaches are sometimes rebuilt, or replenished, with sand from adjacent areas when
erosion of beach areas, particularly those fronting resorts, becomes economically threatening. It
is a recommendation of this Recovery Action Plan that rebuilding, when unavoidable in sea
turtle nesting areas, require that replacement sand be similar to the original material in organic
content and grain size (thereby maintaining the suitability of the beach for the incubation of sea
turtle eggs) and that rebuilding activities do not take place during the primary breeding season.
If beaches are rebuilt during the green/hawksbill turtle nesting season (peak: June to November)
or hatching season (peak: August to January), heavy equipment and activity can deter nesting
and crush eggs. In addition, the new overburden can suffocate incubating eggs and prevent the
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