… turtle poachers nabbed

Last week, three persons were arrested in Montego Bay for turtle poaching.  It is against the law in Jamaica to harm or kill a sea turtle, to rob a turtle nest, and to possess turtle meat, shells and eggs.  These crimes are punished by fines up to $100,000 or a year in jail for each offence.

The incident happened at the beach near the former Jazz & Blues venue, on the eastern edge of Montego Bay.  A poacher was spotted by a private security guard, retained by the property owners to watch for turtles and anyone who might harm them.

In recent years this beach has become a turtle nesting site, as other beaches in the area have been eroded or made unsuitable by development..  In fact, in early 2008 a pair of green turtles came ashore there while a Jazz & Blues concert was going on.

The poacher was detained, and the National Environment and Planning Authority was notified.  (NEPA has the main responsibility for protecting endangered species, including sea turtles, in Jamaica.)  NEPA’s Local Enforcement Officer, assisted by the ISCF, took the poacher and two helpers caught with turtle meat and eggs into custody.  All three have been charged and will be tried November 15.

None of this is any help to the victim, a female hawksbill turtle with a shell about two feet long, making her 20 to 30 years old – just reaching egg-laying age.  Mother hawksbill turtles lay eggs every two or three years, making three to five nests a couple of weeks apart with 125 to 150 eggs in each one.  Because they are smaller and more agile than other sea turtles, hawksbills don’t need to be quite as fussy about their nesting spots.  They can use smaller “pocket” beaches like the one at the old Jazz site, where a shallow reef may keep other turtles out.

Hawksbill turtles are classed as “critically endangered” – at risk of dying out altogether.  They have been hunted not only for their meat and eggs, but also for their beautiful streaked amber shells -- the raw material for “tortoiseshell” jewellery and crafts.  And they have been kept from breeding and growing by destruction of their nesting beaches and the reefs that produce their food.

NEPA’s media release on this incident states that “The NEPA and the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) have been clamping down on the trade in endangered and protected species and other illegal activities that threaten the environment.”  There’s not much evidence of this, even in the Authority’s own archive, but certainly in the turtle-poaching incident both agencies get credit for quick, decisive action.

Even more credit goes to the private party that took responsibility for guarding this beach.  All of the agencies charged with protecting Jamaica’s environment are starved for money and staff.  They can’t be everywhere and they can’t do everything.  They depend on all Jamaicans to take responsibility for our natural resources – forests, marshes and birds, reefs and fish and turtles – and to sound the alarm when we see them being abused.  We need to save what’s left, and grow more.  That will only happen if we all help.