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Loggerhead turtles have a long history in the TCI, dating back to when the first inhabitants arrived here and used them for food and other needs. But over-fishing and deteriorating environmental conditions have led to a decline in their population.

Our local Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) is urging the public to cooperate with a new project that aims to improve the management of the Turks and Caicos Islands marine turtle fishery.

The three-year Turks and Caicos Islands Turtle Project has been running since November 2008 and involves close collaboration between the DECR, the UK Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the University of Exeter’s Marine Turtle Research Group (MTRG), Duke University in the USA, and The School for Field Studies (SFS) on South Caicos.

“This new project seeks to gather as much information as possible about our turtles here in TCI so we can develop a plan to manage them in a more sustainable manner. That way, future generations can enjoy our turtles too,” said DECR Director Wesley Clerveaux, adding: “We are asking folks who find a turtle nest, who land or buy a turtle to eat, or who see turtles in the sea to call us with their information.”

The TCI turtle fishery is regulated by the Fisheries Protection Ordinance 1998. The Ordinance protects nesting turtles and their eggs on TCI beaches, but permits the capture at sea of any turtle weighing over 20lbs, or measuring over 20inches shell length, at any time of year. The new project came about in response to concerns regarding TCI’s own nesting turtle populations. Previous research by DECR, MCS and the MTRG indicated that TCI’s nesting populations of turtles have dramatically declined in recent decades, with nesting now rarely occurring on inhabited islands.

The TCI Turtle Project is coordinated in the field by Project Officer Amdeep Sanghera, a social scientist hired by MCS who is based in South Caicos. Amdeep works with Project Assistant Tommy Philips, a former South Caicos fishermen now employed by the DECR. Since November, Amdeep and Tommy have been meeting fishermen in South Caicos, Provo and Grand Turk to explain the project’s aims and to request their cooperation in developing a turtle fishery management plan.

In order to complement the data gathered by the project team, the DECR is requesting public cooperation and requesting that any sightings of turtles, turtle nests or turtles landed for consumption be reported to the TCI Turtle Project at 1 (649) 243-4895 or on e-mail amdeep.sanghera@mcsuk.org.

All information will be treated in confidence and will be of great value in ensuring that the project has national coverage and provides a full assessment of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ turtle populations.

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