- Sea turtles in the Caribbean are perilously close to
extinction because of over-fishing and over-development, an official report
has discovered.
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- The collapse of turtle numbers on some of the Caribbean's
most famous and glamorous islands has been so severe that in Bermuda
turtles
no longer breed any more.
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- In the Cayman Islands, the idyllic archipelago that once
supported millions of turtles, biologists fear the hawksbill turtle is
locally extinct.
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- The findings, which follow a three-year,
government-funded
investigation carried out by biologists at Exeter University and the Marine
Conservation Society, have alarmed environmentalists.
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- Local fishermen and biologists have noticed the slow
decline in turtle numbers for some years, but the new study has, for the
first time, revealed the extent of the crisis.
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- Turtles were once the most important source of food and
income and played a vital part in the culture of the islands. The Cayman
Islands were originally settled because of their vast turtle populations,
then the largest in the Atlantic.
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- But now, on most of the British Overseas Territories
surveyed for the study, the total number of female turtles that nest on
beaches each year is probably fewer than 50. Only in the Turks and Caicos
Islands are turtles still plentiful, thanks to the vast sea grass beds
nearby.
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- Gina Ebanks-Petrie, head of the Cayman Islands'
Depart-ment
of the Environment, remembers her grandfather making a living from turtle
fishing. Now the situation is so acute, she is discussing a complete ban
on all turtle harvesting - a measure already introduced on neighbouring
Anguilla.
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- Professor Brendan Godley, who led the study, said the
predicament was so severe because of the turtles' long life and breeding
cycles. Most females do not begin breeding until they are 20 or 30 years
old and then lay eggs only once every three years. Because of the high
number of eggs lost to predators and to the elements, in some cases, only
one egg in a thousand will lead to an adult, breeding turtle.
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- To make matters worse, an island's turtles rarely breed
with another island's turtles. Females return to the beach they were born
on to breed. However, many beaches, mangrove swamps and sea grass beds
- all essential habitats for nesting and for feeding - are being lost to
tourism developments such as marinas.
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- While islanders are already voluntarily cutting back
on the numbers of turtles they catch and are trying to protect breeding
grounds, local poverty has forced them to demand help from the UK.
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- Despite £250,000 having been spent on this and
similar conservation projects, Professor Godley agreed the Government had
to spend far more helping the territories to ensure turtle fishing could
continue at a sustainable level. "Otherwise they will be lost for
ever," he said.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/world
- /environment/story.jsp?story=587554
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