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

St. Kitts and Nevis Sea Turtles…
Board, the assignment of inspectors, and a delineation of offences and penalties. The only
regulations in place at the present time are the Pesticides (Labelling and Storage of Containers)
Regulations (SRO No. 18 of 1975). The Pesticide Board, which has not been functional for a
number of years, should be revitalized.
In St. Kitts, sewage is disposed of in one of three ways: septic and absorption pits, pit
latrines, and treatment plants. More than half the homes in Basseterre, which is located at the
edge of the sea, use pit latrines with essentially no treatment of human wastes (T. Mills, Chief
Public Health Inspector, pers. comm. in CCA, 1991). In some residential areas disposal is
accomplished by the use of holding tanks which overflow to soak-away pits. Effluent of varying
quality routinely finds its way to the sea in many areas. For example, the reef at North Frigate
Bay is overgrown with algae; sewage contamination has been implicated. A central sewage
plant for the Frigate Bay area is presently at the engineering design stage; after approval, the
project is expected to be completed within three years (W. Liburd, Frigate Bay Development
Corp., pers. comm. in CCA, 1991). It is certainly unfortunate in light of the magnitude of coastal
development expected on the Southeast Peninsula that there is no infrastructure on the peninsula
to accommodate central sewage collection or treatment; responsibility for this is left to each
landowner. In Nevis, most (66%) residents use pit toilets, the rest use connected or unconnected
water closets or have no toilet at all. Statutory regulations for domestic sewage disposal and
septic tank design have not been written. The first facility to construct and operate a package
sewage treatment plant is the Four Seasons Hotel. Large-scale tourist development at Pinneys
Beach could contaminate adjacent coastal and lagoonal areas if sewage is not carefully managed
(CCA, 1991).
Draft legislation which would establish a Sewage and Water Authority for the country is
pending. It is a recommendation of this Recovery Action Plan that legislation establish a strong
regulatory framework for the use of agricultural chemicals, a system to monitor the fate of these
poisons in the environment, and provisions for enforcement.
4.147 Anchoring and dredging
Anchor damage is a leading cause of destruction to sea grass meadows and coral reefs in
the Eastern Caribbean and St. Kitts/Nevis is no exception. According to Robinson (1991), "the
proliferation of tourism and added numbers of ships of every type is creating congestion in the
Charlestown Harbour and along the Leeward coast [of Nevis]. There is considerable concern
over anchorage and the dragging of anchors over reefs, sea grass beds, and other sea life. There
are no accurate maps available to locate [important features of the sea bed], thus Nevis customs
people cannot guide ships to safe moorings." Audra Barrett, Assistant Fisheries Officer, recently
notified the Nevis Customs Department by letter that damage to coral reefs from yacht anchors
was a very serious problem. Customs Officers responded with a campaign to alert yachters to the
problem; compliance around Nevis appears to be improving (A. Barrett, pers. comm., 1991).
The challenge now is to educate boaters to avoid sea grass communities, as well, for these are
also ruined by repetitive anchoring.
In St. Kitts there is already clear evidence of coral/sponge damage in Basseterre Harbour
(section 3.3), at frequently used dive sites, and in bays where yachts often anchor. For example,
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