ECO COMMENTARY

It’s Time to Ban Turtle Fishing

By The Green Hornet

Tuesday,  July 26, 2005

It’s the time of year when turtles return to the Caymans to nest and lay eggs, which, if they’re lucky, will add to the next generation of these amazing animals. They’ve been doing the same thing for millions of years, and if you’ve ever seen an 80-year-old turtle haul herself out of the ocean, clamber up the beach, scrabble a hole in the sand, lay her eggs, cover them and then scramble back down to the sea, then you know it is an experience you will remember all your life.

The history of turtles and the Cayman Islands goes back to Columbus’s first sighting of the Brac’s bluff and the “small rocks in the sea all around,” which turned out to be the shells of hundreds of thousands of turtles. The basis of our existence (to feed passing ships) and our economy were based on turtle fishing for hundreds of years.

Many Caymanians still yearn for turtle meat, and many can still taste the richness of turtle eggs dug out of the nests within 24 hours of being laid. The turtle is still so much of our culture that we boast the only turtle farm in the world – a farm in every sense of the word – which feeds our desire for turtle meat. The turtle is even prominently featured on our coat-of-arms.

We still issue turtle fishing licenses to a couple dozen fishermen – many of them too old to operate a boat – that allow them to catch a certain number of turtles every year. And we still abuse this magnificent and ancient animal.

Poaching is almost commonplace. The Department of Environment enforcement officers usually make several arrests each year for illegal turtle fishing. And we still raid the nests and, yes, steal the eggs.

Before continuing, let’s look at the word “poaching.” The Oxford English Dictionary defines poaching as: “1. Illegally hunt or catch (game or fish) on land that is not one’s own or in contravention of official protection. 2. Take or acquire in an unfair or clandestine way.”

That pretty well sums up what goes on here, whether it’s catching turtle out of season or digging up turtle eggs.

“But,” I can hear the turtlers and poachers say, as they blow off such a challenge, “It’s our heritage. Just because there’s a law says we can’t, it’s our cultural heritage to do it, and so we should be able to whenever we want.”

I’ve heard the same excuse used by young fishermen who don’t have a license when they drag an old Caymanian (who does have a license) out to sea so they can fish for turtle – thereby neatly circumnavigating the law.
It’s all got to do with taking because you think you deserve to be able to take. Individuals who do this refuse to take into account that the turtle is endangered. Okay, back to the OED. “Endangered” simply means “at risk, especially of extinction.” And we all know what extinction means, right? It means there won’t be any more left on the planet when the last one has gone.

It really is time for us to take responsibility for ourselves and our culture. We do not have the right to hunt an animal (legally or illegally) until it no longer exists.

We don’t need the turtle meat to feed our families any more. And we don’t need the money we make from selling the turtle meat from the occasional 400-pounder that we catch. We are, supposedly, a culture that is way beyond the subsistence-level survival our families went through in previous generations. We no longer use kerosene lamps and candles to light our homes, and we would laugh at anyone who said we couldn’t use electricity any more. Why, then, do we use our culture as an excuse for continuing to hunt and poach turtles and their eggs?

Let’s think about our children for a moment. If we keep on like this, there is every likelihood that they will never see a turtle in the wild when they become adults.

Turtles already have a tough time surviving. Out of every egg that hatches, only one in a thousand turtles lives to be able to reproduce. It’s often 40 years before they reach an age when they can reproduce. Those are incredibly long odds. Imagine if human beings faced those odds. Wouldn’t be too many of us around, would there?

So, it seems to me that it’s time in these islands for few things to happen if our grandchildren are going to experience swimming with turtles in the wild.

First, we need to impose a complete ban on all turtle fishing. No more licenses. Ever.

Second, we need enough Department of Environment “cops” to make sure this happens.Third, we need some tough penalties for violating such laws. $100,000 fines, boat confiscation, a year in jail. Something with teeth.

Finally, we need to grow up and accept that it is our responsibility to ensure that these magnificent creatures survive long into the future.

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