Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Barbados - WIDECAST
Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Barbados - WIDECAST
Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Barbados - WIDECAST
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<strong>Barbados</strong> <strong>Sea</strong> <strong>Turtle</strong>s …<br />
4.123 Provide <strong>for</strong> en<strong>for</strong>cement of guidelines<br />
En<strong>for</strong>cement is the responsibility of the Royal <strong>Barbados</strong> Police Force, the <strong>Barbados</strong><br />
Coast Guard, and to a lesser extent the National Conservation Commission (NCC). These<br />
agencies have recently been sensitized to the legislation pertaining to sea turtles. En<strong>for</strong>cement of<br />
legislation protecting turtles and their nesting and feeding habitats should be shared between the<br />
police, Coast Guard and, ultimately, trained coastal zone rangers. The National Conservation<br />
Commission already employs personnel with limited powers of arrest <strong>for</strong> offences committed on<br />
beaches; e.g., selling goods or services on a beach without an appropriate license. Training NCC<br />
personnel to assist the <strong>Barbados</strong> Police Force to en<strong>for</strong>ce legislation protecting nesting turtles and<br />
their eggs would be very valuable.<br />
4.124 Develop educational materials<br />
Since no specific area or zone <strong>for</strong> official protection has been designated to date, it is<br />
desirable that citizens throughout the country continue to be made aware of ef<strong>for</strong>ts to conserve<br />
turtles and be told what they can do to assist these ef<strong>for</strong>ts. A number of pamphlets, books,<br />
posters and car stickers are already in circulation in <strong>Barbados</strong>, and these are supplemented by<br />
radio and television broadcasts throughout the sea turtle breeding season (section 4.41). In the<br />
past, the <strong>Barbados</strong> Environmental Association has surveyed the beaches of the whole island once<br />
a month during the breeding season. They are planning to repeat these surveys and to encourage<br />
the public to participate. The Association is seeking funding to produce posters targeting tourists<br />
at the airport and sea port, advising them against buying turtle products (section 4.43). They are<br />
also planning to make a wildlife documentary of <strong>Barbados</strong> that will include a section on sea<br />
turtles.<br />
4.13 Prevent or mitigate degradation of nesting beaches<br />
4.131 Sand mining<br />
The chronic removal of sand from nesting beaches accelerates erosion and degrades or<br />
destroys beach vegetation either by removal or by salt water inundation. In severe cases, saline<br />
ponds are <strong>for</strong>med in unsightly pits left by mining operations. With the loss of sandy beaches, the<br />
coast's potential to support recreation, wildlife (e.g., sea turtles), tourism, and commercial<br />
development is reduced. It is presently illegal to remove sand from the <strong>for</strong>eshore of <strong>Barbados</strong>,<br />
and specific areas adjoining the <strong>for</strong>eshore have been identified <strong>for</strong> protection against sand mining<br />
(section 4.21). Recently, however, the illegal removal of sand from beaches (e.g., Long Beach,<br />
which is reported to be an important hawksbill nesting area) has been observed. It is the<br />
recommendation of this <strong>Recovery</strong> <strong>Action</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> that the law banning the removal of sand from<br />
beaches be en<strong>for</strong>ced diligently.<br />
4.132 Lights<br />
Beach front lighting is a serious cause of mortality among hawksbill hatchlings, and may<br />
also be a deterrent to nesting females. <strong>Sea</strong> turtle hatchlings orient to the sea using light; that is,<br />
using the brightness of the open seaward horizon as their primary cue. As many as 100% of the<br />
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