Environment Minister Ganga Singh says Government will consider banning artisanal gillnets which trap and possibly kill more than 1,000 turtles in T&T annually.
The green multi-filament net is used to catch carite, kingfish and cavalli on waters where hundreds of leather back turtles swim to reach the shores to nest.
In an interview, Singh said he was not aware of any proposal made by turtle advocates to ban the gillnets. However, he said if the research was correct then Government would have to consider the ban following consultation with fisherfolk and other stakeholders.
Singh also called on the Environmental Management Authority to charge anyone who was found sitting or standing on the protected leatherback species.
"I want to publicly condemn these acts. We have funded several NGO's and Turtle Trust, Nature Seekers. People should know better and we hope there is an enforcement of the law and people who do this will be charged," Singh said.
In an article on the Web site marinebio.org, it was stated that turtles may often abandon their nesting if humans interfere. The turtles choose beaches with soft sand to nest because their softer shells and plastrons are easily damaged by hard rocks.
Founder and director of Papa Bois Conservation Marc de Verteuil says even though the penalty for endangering turtles was $100,000 fine and two years imprisonment, people were still continuing to hurt turtles by trampling on their nesting grounds with their vehicles.
"When you sit on a turtle you could damage the fine bones that are under the shell. The leather back turtle dives down more than 3,000 feet and pressures at that depth are incredible. The leather back shrinks under pressure and if there is a fractured bone, it can cause internal injuries," De Verteuil said.
He admitted, however, that more turtles die from gillnets than from humans sitting on them.
"Gillnets should not be used in the turtle nesting areas. We have lobbied for this but we got nothing. While it is upsetting and disgusting to see someone sitting or standing on a turtle, the same kind of attention should be given to the turtles who are killed in gillnets," De Verteuil said.
IMA responds
Lori Lee Lum, officer in charge of the Information Centre at the Institute of Marine Affairs, who conducted a study on gillnets in 2006 said more than 1,000 turtles were trapped annually in gillnets. However, not all of these die.
She said following her study, an external group also conducted research and corroborated her data. The group also made recommendations for gillnets to be banned in turtle-prone areas.
During her study, Lee Lum focused on the incidental capture of sea turtles in gillnets. Field surveys from March 2001 to February 2002 at 27 fish landing sites around Trinidad showed the predominant use of the gillnets.
However, fishermen reported that approximately 73 per cent of leatherback captures on the north coast and 66 per cent on the east coast were released alive during the study period.
Some of the recommendations made by Lee Lum included:-
�2 Revising fisheries legislation.
�2 Providing training and financial support for fishermen to increase the adoption of alternative fishing methods.
�2 Educating fishermen on how their fishing practices can affect the survival of the leatherback species which is facing extinction.
