Cayman IslandsTurtle Farm gets back a Breeder
Mr john Galbraithand fishing partner stand with Mr. Arie Barendrecht ofCobalt CoastResort with the first turtle returned to Cayman Turtle Farm.
Staff of the Turtle Farm were thrilled onTuesday, 18 December, with the return of the first of their breeders,which were washed out of their tanks during Cayman's near brushwith Hurricane Michelle in November.
Says Joe Parsons of the Cayman Turtle Farm(CTF), "Some 275 of the farm's 352 breeding turtles werelost this way, and it is important that as many be recovered aspossible. Green Turtles at the farm may take as long as 16 yearsto reach reproductive maturity and without our breeders the CTFis severely limited in its ability to both provide fresh turtlemeat and to replenish turtle stocks in the wild."
Turtler John Galbraith and his fishing partnercaught the 250lb female in a turtle net set in the North Sound,and notified a Department of Environment (DoE) Officer who checkedand recorded her tag number for authenticity. Mr. Galbraith isone of seven local turtle fishermen licensed to set nets in areasnormally restricted to recapture these sea turtles.
"It was really quite a task handlingher, but as soon as we saw the yellow fin tags, we realised itwas one of the farm's breeders," says Mr. Galbraith. "Iknow that without these creatures, turtle releases into the wildwill be severely reduced. I really look forward to catching morein the future."
The fishermen are offered a reward of $4.00per pound for the returned turtles and Mr. Arie Barendrecht ofCobalt Coast has made a contribution to the Farm for this firstreturn. He says,
"In the spirit of cooperation and supportof the farm, Cobalt Coast Resort is delighted to sponsor thisfirst return. I hope that other businesses will follow our exampleas turtles are such an important part of Cayman's history, aswell as a popular visitor attraction."
The farm's staff thanked the fishermen andMr. Arie for their cooperation and continue to encourage licensedfishermen to return these large turtles.
They also express their gratitude to thepublic for its cooperation in reporting yellow-tagged turtle sightings,making the possibility of multiple captures more realistic.
The DoE and CTF remind the public that these"legal" nets have a red Department of Environment tagon them and should not be disturbed. Anyone needing additionalinformation or to report sightings of tagged turtles should callJoe Parsons at 949 3893 or the Department of the Environment at949 8469.