Times of the Islands Winter 2022/23

These cows were remnants of a settlement created
in the 1800s known as Jacksonville. The settlement had
cattle ranches and sisal plantations, which were relatively
successful. Unfortunately, Jacksonville was eventually
abandoned but the cows remained and roamed free.
Throughout the 1970s and late 1980s, brave men would
journey to East Caicos, and using traditional knowledge
and know-how, stalk a cow and butcher it. They would
proceed to quarter the animal, then make the journey
back to South. This endeavor was laborious and sometimes
took two days to complete.
Alas, a steak dinner is not the reason that I, Ms.
Amadyne Agenor, and Mr. Timothy Hamilton — affectionately
known as Cap’n Tim — journeyed to East Caicos.
We were on the prowl for . . . SEA TURTLES. The coastline
of East Caicos is a nationally important nesting habitat
for threatened green and hawksbill turtles. These beautiful
creatures can migrate thousands of miles across our
oceans and find their way back to where they themselves
hatched decades ago to breed.
Oshin Whyte (left) and Amadyne Agenor (right) set off to explore sea
turtle nesting sites on the north coast of East Caicos.
For generations, fisherfolk across the Islands have
caught and eaten sea turtles, as a local delicacy. However,
the occasional capture of adult turtles was impeding the
recovery of the Islands’ genetically distinct but severely
depleted breeding populations. Enter the Turks & Caicos
Islands Turtle Project (TCITP). Established in 2008, it is
a collaborative initiative led by the Marine Conservation
Society (based in the UK) and the TCI Government. It
strives to enhance the management of the Islands’ traditional
marine turtle fishery while respecting the rights of
Islanders to responsibly harvest this resource. The TCITP
helped change the turtle fishery regulations in 2014 and
has conducted extensive turtle satellite tracking research
here. It now is partner to a new Darwin Plus-funded project
led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
(RSPB) and the TCI National Trust to develop a local community-driven
and locally owned action plan to guide
future management and sustainable development of East
Caicos. An aspect of this new project is to assess sea turtle
nesting habitat and feeding grounds on and around
East Caicos.
To achieve this objective, we embarked on an epic
journey to record some of this season’s turtle nesting
on the northern shores. There was much apprehension
and excitement, as this was Amadyne’s first time visiting
East Caicos and my first time camping on the island for
an extended period. Cap’n Tim is an expert naturalist
and knows the island like the back of his hand, which
put our minds at ease. We set out early, as the plan was
to walk the entire northern coast of the island — Breezy
Point to Lorimers — a total of five miles and record any
evidence of nesting turtles, including tracks, nesting pits
and emerged nests.
The boat ride from South Caicos to East Caicos had
some of the most breath-taking scenery. The shimmer
of the sun’s reflection on the emerald water, the basking
nurse shark on the banks, the crisp air. It felt surreal and
for a moment, like Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1877, we
too acknowledge the grandeur of God.
This state of mind was shattered when we got to
Breezy Point, East Caicos and started our exploration of
the beach. We had experienced a Category 3 hurricane in
September, and even though a full lunar cycle had lapsed
since the hurricane and the sampling period, the coastline
had significant damage and severe erosion. This was
the narrative from Breezy Point to Lorimers. The erosion
was so significant that in many places a ridge of sand was
created that measured as much as three to four feet in
some areas. It was as if someone (i.e., Hurricane Fiona)
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