The Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group

The Plight of the Bahamian Sea Turtles

March 28, 2008
By Kim Aranha (as featured on TheBahamasWeekly.com)

When I think about Turtles, I usually think of one of two things; either the rather comical little turtle floundering around in the shallow waters trying out his new found flipper skills (reminiscent of the movie, Finding Nemo’s, turtle family) or a majestic and splendid giant of the seas who casts a huge shadow on the bottom of the clear blue Bahamian water as small fish scurry away from the imposing figure above……. I quite certainly DO NOT think of some poor pathetic creature hauled up from the sea, tied by his flipper, dragged behind a boat, and thrown or dragged on his back to the side of a dusty main Nassau road. There, he is left to flap and flounder to the taunts and jeers of the fisherman and the children who sit on him, or use him as a footstool, kicking and poking at him, whilst laughing at his misery.

As he lies helpless on his back, in the hot burning sun, no water to cool him he gradually becomes dehydrated, much to the amusement of his tormentors…

This is the disgusting spectacle people saw when driving past the Montague Ramp on Holy Easter Sunday. He was a splendid 240 pound male Loggerhead turtle, in his prime, perhaps 30 or 40 years old, gasping for life and left with not an ounce of dignity.

One person told me that they were all the more touched and horrified because this was happening on one of the holiest days of our year. Turtles are God’s creatures too…. Let us remember that, please.

The turtle population, all over the world, is slowly diminishing; according to the many different turtle websites, the Bahamas is considered an essential feeding ground for these magnificent animals. Turtles come to our islands to transition form adolescence to adult maturity.

There are five types of turtles that frequent the Bahamas : The Green Turtle, the Loggerhead Turtle, the Leatherback Turtle, the Hawksbill Turtle and the Kemps Ridley Turtle. Of these turtles, the Kemps Ridley Turtle is very rare, and is considered among the most highly endangered species of the world, the Hawksbill Turtle and (so people tell me) Leatherback Turtle are protected in the Bahamas and the poor old Loggerhead Turtle and Green Turtle are fair game for harvesting. There are size restrictions, but that doesn’t help them much. The harvesting HAS TO STOP between the dates of April 1st – August 1st. (like crawfishing season). Therefore ANYBODY seen with a caught turtle as of next Tuesday April 1st can and should be prosecuted. So I am asking you to please, keep a look out if you do see anybody capture, harbour, kill, or sell any Bahamian sea turtle for the next four months. The police should be prepared to prosecute those who took the turtle and the animal should be re-released into the wild.

If you contact the police and do not receive their full cooperation, you should immediately report this to the Bahamas Humane Society, the National Trust, and the office of the Police Commissioner.

I have spent countless hours on 100’s of websites researching the plight of the sea turtle; the world over the sea turtle is in serious trouble. Some turtles and places more than others. Three countries have banned the fishing and catching of turtles completely, the USA in 1973, Mexico in 1990 and Cuba in 2008. Can you imagine that we, the Bahamas , are environmentally behind Cuba ?

I contacted the Director of International Policy at the Caribbean Conservation Corporation and she told me that: Sea turtle nesting populations of green and hawksbill turtles have been declining in Bahamas for decades. This trend needs to be reversed if sea turtles are to remain a part of the environment in The Bahamas. Historically The Bahamas is very important for sea turtles. Whilst researching I found that not that long ago there were several million green sea turtles throughout the world. Today, however, fewer than 200,000 nesting females are thought to remain. Surely numbers like this should be a wake up call to ban the harvesting of these animals!

All sea turtles are considered THREATENED, this means that their numbers are constantly declining. Eventually THERE WILL NOT BE ANY LEFT!

I quote the English newspaper The Guardian from their website and article published 2003. “ It weighs a tonne and it has outlived the dinosaurs by 65m years. But the leatherback sea turtle - one of the largest, oldest and widest-ranging marine animals ever to cruise the oceans - could be heading for extinction.”

They are sometimes subjected to days on end on their backs in the hot sun, they become dehydrated, until at some point, their meat considered still fresh (because they are have been kept alive), they are killed. Not all fishermen are kind enough to just slit their throats and put a quick end to their agony endured for days, some just butcher them alive hacking them to pieces. If that doesn’t make you feel seriously sick to the stomach then there is something dangerously wrong with you.

So for those who care little or not at all about the horrific torture and cruelty these magnificent animal have to endure at the hands of their captors then take the time out to consider the world without yet another spicies of animal. Gone would be the beautiful sight of a turtle popping his head out of the sea to look at you, gone would be the breath taking sight of him rounding the reef right in front of you, would that not make the world a poorer place?

Go and tell your children or grandchildren that there are no more turtles because our generation did not care enough to save them for the next generation….does that mean that the children of today and tomorrow deserve less magic in their lives that we have had or are we too selfish to care anymore?

How can we people not care about the cruelty, torture and extinction. It is time the Bahamas stood up for what is right. Each and every one of you must make your voices heard and help us STOP THE CRUELTY!!!!

Authors note: There was a happy end to the story of the Loggerhead turtle on Easter Sunday and he was eventually returned to the wilds. It took many hours of heated debate and negotiations. Some very good and wonderful people gave up their Easter Day to save his life. It was not in vain. Very few of these turtle stories however have happy endings. The Bahamas Humane Society will be establishing a turtle fund to help promote the protection of the Bahamian Sea turtles, anybody caring to contribute may contact me at my website.

About the author: Kim Aranha grew up in the Berry Islands with her first dog, a beloved potcake named “Friendly” (who was anything but!). First educated at home, and then in boarding school in Switzerland, Kim moved to Rome, Italy in 1974 to pursue a career in the dramatic arts and ended up working as an interpreter. She moved back to The Bahamas in 1980, and now lives in Nassau with her husband Paul, and their two teenaged sons. Kim has 4 dogs, 5 fish (1 Beta, 4 Goldfish), 10 turtles (6 babies, 4 adolescents), 1 Asian box turtle and 4 Budgerigars. Her idea of relaxing is being home to take care of all her pets. Kim is President of the board of the Bahamas Humane Society. Kim can be contacted at kimvba@coralwave.com

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