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

CEP Technical Report No. 17
4.42 Fishermen
It is intuitively obvious that enforcement is impractical, if not impossible, in the absence
of public knowledge of and support for the law(s) being enforced. This is particularly true for
user groups such as fishermen. Fishermen, especially older individuals who have seen stocks
decline noticeably during their lifetimes, are keenly aware of the depleted status of sea turtles.
For this reason, there was fairly broad support from within the fishing community for legislation
proposed in 1986 (and again in 1992) to ban the catch of sea turtles (see section 4.23). Prior to
the 1992 Fisheries Act (which repealed the closed season), Fisheries personnel announced the
closed turtle season on the radio and through Department of Agriculture publications; hotels
were also reminded. Despite widespread knowledge of the law, varying levels of harvest
occurred year-around since there has never been any credible likelihood of prosecution. A
chance encounter with a sea turtle was (and is) difficult to pass by when the catch had otherwise
been slight. Turtle meat sells for EC$ 2-5/lb.
It is imperative to reach out to those who hunt and most frequently have contact with sea
turtles. Targeting other groups, such as school children, planning boards and tourists, without
the cooperation of direct users of the marine environment would be counter-productive.
Fishermen should be involved in decisions regarding open and closed seasons, size limits, etc.
Their participation in seminars and slide shows should be (and has been) sought so that they are
aware of the status of sea turtles, their complicated life history in the Caribbean, and what is
required to promote their recovery. Educational efforts should be directed both to individual
fishermen and to fishing Co-operatives, and should be facilitated by Fisheries personnel and
Co-operative officers. Workshops and/or special sessions in regular meetings of fisherman's
Co-operatives would be helpful. Ongoing exchanges of information should be promoted by
making displays, leaflets, and other items available at Co-operative buildings and/or landing
sites. It is significant that fishermen, Co-operative officers, and Fisheries personnel were active
participants in the development of this Recovery Action Plan.
The Department of Agriculture sponsors, or has sponsored in the past, several venues that
allow Fisheries personnel to share information with fishermen and the general pubic. Radio DJs
are given "Fisheries Facts" to work into their air time each day. "Agriscope", developed by the
Communications Unit of the Department of Agriculture, airs twice weekly on the radio and
focuses on topics of current fisheries interest, such as turtles, oil spills, gear, etc. It has been
suggested by some members of the fishing community that a 15 minute radio programme each
day, which discusses sea turtles and urges residents not to kill them or take their eggs, would be
successful in St. Kitts/Nevis. This type of natural resource programming would logically include
a broad spectrum of general interest topics, such as waste disposal and pollution, the biology of
native birds and mammals, the importance of fragile habitats (such as the rain forest and coastal
wetlands), and issues of interest to the fishing community.
It is a recommendation of this Recovery Action Plan that media programmes focusing on
the marine environment, including endangered species such as sea turtles, be continued and
expanded. It is also recommended that the participation and support of fishing Co-operatives be
actively solicited during the development and implementation of conservation legislation. User
groups should be given a chance to comment and provided with clear explanations about why
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