Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Barbados - WIDECAST

Barbados Sea Turtles …
geable residents report that sea grass beds have diminished in size over the past two decades.
Increased inputs of sediment, resulting in clouding of the water and a reduction in rates of
photosynthesis, and increased inputs of herbicides and pesticides via land runoff are implicated
in sea grass decline. Sea grass beds and coral reefs are both important to green turtles, for whom
they provide food and shelter, respectively. The relative scarcity of green turtles as compared to
hawksbills may perhaps be explained by the lack of sea grass around Barbados.
Barbados is a coral island dotted by fringing reefs and a more or less continuous bank
reef approximately 1 km offshore along the western and southern coasts (Map 2). A principal
component of the diet of hawksbill turtles is reef-encrusting sponge; thus, for hawksbills, reefs
are used not only for shelter but also for food. Over the past twenty years the health of fringing
reefs has declined, due primarily to poor nearshore water quality (see also sections 4.143, 4.146,
4.147). Bellairs Research Institute, under contract from the Coastal Conservation Project Unit of
the Ministry of Labour, Consumer Affairs and the Environment, conducted the first quantitative
benthic survey of the fringing and bank reefs on the south and west coasts of the island
(Oxenford et al., 1989). The survey provided baseline data on the present state of the reefs and
will allow any future changes in reef health to be quantitatively assessed. The survey also
quantified fish abundance and diversity, and coverage of hard coral, soft coral and algae.
Preliminary nearshore surveys (line transects) at water depths of 3-15 m along a northern
section of the west coast of Barbados were conducted by Bellairs Research Institute in
July-August 1991 as part of their sea turtle conservation activities. Juvenile turtles (greens and
hawksbills combined) were encountered at a rate of about 0.4 per km. No adults were observed.
The only information available to date on foraging habitat used by sea turtles is qualitative,
consisting of occasional sightings from the cliffs along the northeast coast and reports from
SCUBA dive operators visiting the same areas repeatedly. A comprehensive long-term survey is
needed in which dive operators, marine research scientists, and fishermen should all be
encouraged to participate. The dive operators have already expressed a willingness to take part
in small-scale surveying of nearshore foraging habitats. This cooperation will be very useful in
assessing the relative importance of various coastal habitats.
4.112 Survey nesting habitat
The Coastal Conservation Project Unit (CCPU) is an agency within the Ministry of
Labour, Consumer Affairs and the Environment. It was established in 1983 to advise on coastal
erosion matters. Its routine activities include monitoring of beaches around the island and the
review of applications made to the Town Planning Department (Ministry of Housing and Lands)
for any proposed coastal development. The CCPU surveys 38 beaches at 3-month intervals, 20
at 2-week intervals, and 17 annually. The resulting profiles allow changes that have taken place
over the past five years to be quantified, and strategies for subsequent beach stabilization
measures to be developed. These data are also very useful for the long-term monitoring of sea
turtle nesting habitat.
The first comprehensive attempt to survey beaches for sea turtle nesting activity was
made in 1987 in preparation for WATS II, the Second Western Atlantic Turtle Symposium
(Horrocks and Willoughby, 1987). It was estimated that from June to August (peak nesting
period) there were about 44 km of suitable nesting beaches around Barbados; where a suitable
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