Turks and Caicos seek to manage turtle fishing

From an article on Turks and Caicos Net News:

(TCI-GIS): The Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) is urging the public to cooperate with a new project that aims to improve the management of the Turks and Caicos Islands marine turtle fishery.

The three-year Turks and Caicos Islands Turtle Project has been running since November 2008 and involves close collaboration between the DECR, the UK Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the University of Exeter’s Marine Turtle Research Group (MTRG), Duke University in the USA, and The School for Field Studies (SFS) on South Caicos.

“This new project seeks to gather as much information as possible about our turtles here in TCI so we can develop a plan to manage them in a more sustainable manner. That way, future generations can enjoy our turtles too,” said DECR Director Wesley Clerveaux, adding: “We are asking folks who find a turtle nest, who land or buy a turtle to eat, or who see turtles in the sea to call us with their information.”

The TCI turtle fishery is regulated by the Fisheries Protection Ordinance 1998. The Ordinance protects nesting turtles and their eggs on TCI beaches, but permits the capture at sea of any turtle weighing over 20lbs, or measuring over 20inches shell length, at any time of year.

The new project came about in response to concerns regarding TCI’s own nesting turtle populations. Previous research by DECR, MCS and the MTRG indicated that TCI’s nesting populations of turtles have dramatically declined in recent decades, with nesting now rarely occurring on inhabited islands. . . .

“This project is not about banning the turtle fishery and the fishermen we have spoken to understand that,” said [Project Officer Amdeep] Sanghera, “But because most people don’t view the fishery as economically important, it has received little attention. As with any fishery, a degree of management is necessary in order to ensure sustainability.”