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

St. Kitts and Nevis Sea Turtles…School), Campbell Evelyn (former Chair, Conservation Commission; conservationist), CharlesSolas (fisherman), Kenneth Samuel and David Howlett (Kenneth's Dive Center), Oliver Spencer(Old Road Fisherman's Cooperative), Rikki Grober (Island Resources Foundation), RickyPereira (Owner, Turtle Beach Bar & Grill), Diana Honebrink (Peace Corps Volunteer,Environmental Educator), Jacqueline Cramer-Armony (Founding President, SCHS), and TimSands (Peace Corps Volunteer, Division of Fisheries) provided invaluable input, includingfishing effort, sightings and nesting data, historical perspective, and creative solutions tocontemporary stresses on sea turtles. Karen Eckert is grateful to Maria Bacci (Organization ofAmerican States), Tim Sands, and Tom and Diana Honebrink for their friendship and hospitalityin providing housing and transportation during her repeated visits to St. Kitts.The authors would also like to express their sincere appreciation to those people whoattended the 22 October 1992 Community Meeting in St. Kitts (hosted by the SCHS MarineDivision) to review and discuss this document. The participants included Campbell Evelyn,Joseph Simmonds, Oliver Spencer, Tim Sands, Diana Honebrink (affiliations noted above),Marian Dupré (Ballahoo Restaurant), Peter Dupré (SCHS Marine Division; St. Kitts Boat Club),Delroy Joseph (Customs Supervisor, Excise Dept.), Arlene Joseph (concerned citizen), TelcaWallace (concerned citizen), Everett Cozier (Basseterre Fisherman's Cooperative), Steve Shipe(U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Lee Graham (Basseterre Fisherman's Cooperative), MichaelEmbesi (Peace Corps Volunteer, Environmental Educator), Stanley Margolis (Kenneth's DiveCenter), and Clyde James (Cooperatives Officer). Randy Walters (marine biologist) and VincentCoker (Conservation Officer, Dept. Agriculture) reviewed the Plan but could not attend themeeting.A special vote of thanks goes to the Estridge Primary School and to Ms. Susanna Lee(Head Teacher), who cared so much and worked so hard to learn about endangered sea turtlesand to draft a Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan of their own (see Introduction). We also thankthe students of Cayon, Molineux, and Estridge primary schools who conducted interviews andwrote essays on the sea turtles of St. Kitts (see Appendix I). On a more personal note, TDHexpresses gratitude to his wife Diana for her support and understanding during the long hours ofpreparation required to complete this Plan. Finally, the authors speak for all persons whoselflessly gave of their time and expertise to this document in dedicating it to the sea turtles of St.Kitts/Nevis . . . and to the children who will inherit the results of the decisions we make today._____________1/ The WIDECAST regional Recovery Team provided impetus for this document and critiquedearlier drafts. These persons are the following: Lic. Ana Cecilia Chaves (Costa Rica), Dr. KarenEckert (USA), Jacques Fretey (France), John Fuller (Antigua), Molly Gaskin (Trinidad), Dr.Julia Horrocks (Barbados), Maria Teresa Koberg (Costa Rica), Dr. Peter Pritchard (USA), Dr.James Richardson (USA), and Dr. Georgita Ruiz (Mexico). The IUCN/SSC Marine TurtleSpecialist Group (Dr. Karen Bjorndal, Chair) also provided useful comments on an earlier draft.Major financial support for WIDECAST has come from Monitor International, The CheloniaInstitute, the UNEP Caribbean Environment Programme, and the U. S. National Marine FisheriesService. Special appreciation is due Milton Kaufmann (President of Monitor International andFounder of WIDECAST) and Robert Truland (Trustee, The Chelonia Institute) for theirunwavering personal commitment to WIDECAST since its inception more than a decade ago.Page iii