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

CEP Technical Report No. 17
definite moratorium on the harvest of sea turtles (all species) of all sizes is urged at the earliest
practicable time. It is a recommendation of this Recovery Action Plan that the draft Fisheries
Regulations of 1992, which in keeping with the OECS Harmonized Legislation include full protection
for sea turtles, be adopted and implemented without delay. It is noteworthy that relevant
international treaties, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (section 4.31) and the United Nations Environment Programme's
Cartagena Convention (section 4.32), classify and protect all six Caribbean species of sea turtle
as Endangered. The nations of the Wider Caribbean are moving quickly toward full protection
of these species, and St. Kitts and Nevis is encouraged to participate in this regional effort.
In the event that an immediate and indefinite moratorium on the harvest of sea turtles and
their eggs is politically impossible, then interim legislation (described below) should be enacted
for a period not to exceed one year. During this period, Fisheries personnel should be preparing
the fishing community for a full moratorium. Whilst these interim regulations represent a
significant advancement over the present regulatory framework (since presently there is no
legislation whatsoever governing the harvest of sea turtles or their eggs), they are in no way
capable of realizing the objective of a sustained recovery of depleted sea turtle stocks. They are
intended only to serve as a credible intermediate step toward full protection.
Any interim regulations should restrict harvest to juvenile green and loggerhead turtles,
and further confine it to turtles with a curved carapace length less than 24 inches (60 cm). Small
juvenile turtles are completing a period of rapid growth. If turtles must be harvested, this size
class is more capable of being replaced than adults. We recommend that the harvest of olive
ridley, hawksbill, and leatherback turtles of any size be forbidden. Olive ridley and hawksbill
turtles are seriously depleted in the Western Atlantic and no amount of harvest can be justified,
even on an interim basis. Since only adult leatherbacks are encountered, there is no opportunity
to harvest immatures of this species. With this in mind, the following text is suggested:
21.(1) The close season for turtle until otherwise declared shall commence from the 1st
day of March and end on the 30th day of November of every year.
(2) No person shall:
(a) catch or take, or attempt to catch or take, or cause to be caught
or taken any Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) or Loggerhead turtle
(Caretta caretta) during the close season; or
(b) notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), at anytime
catch or take, or attempt to catch or take, or cause to be caught or
taken any Green or Loggerhead turtle which is greater than 24
inches (60 cm) in carapace (shell) length; or
(c) catch or take any Green or Loggerhead turtle using a Spear Gun
(Fish Gun); or
(d) buy, sell, offer or expose for sale, or have in his possession the
whole or any part thereof of any Green or Loggerhead turtle
during the close season; or
(e) notwithstanding subsection (a) take, capture or disturb or
attempt to take, capture or disturb any Green or Loggerhead tur-
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