Hawksbill turtle rescued from poachers

A large female hawksbill turtle was rescued on Sunday from the hands of poachers, the Department of Environment reported.

The DoE, in a post on its official Facebook page on Tuesday, said its conservation officers and the RCIPS helped rescue the helpless animal from certain death.

“The turtle had been tied up on land and luckily was still alive when found, thanks to the fast response of the rescuers. After a health assessment, she was released back to sea,” the DoE said.

The DoE told the Compass that the captured turtle was reported in a yard of a condominium complex and there was no way to confirm who had put it there, so no arrests have been made.

As the DoE celebrated the rescue, it issued a warning about poaching and encouraged the public to only purchase turtle meat from the Cayman Turtle Centre, “never from an unknown source”.

The DoE reminded that hawksbill turtles are a critically endangered species with numbers declining worldwide.

“The number of mature breeding hawksbills in the Cayman Islands is extremely low and there are many years where no hawksbill nesting occurs at all,” the DoE said.

Local conservation officers reported last year that organised criminal gangs represent the biggest current threat to Cayman’s marine life.

There have been instances of repeat offenders when it comes to poaching.

Last year, one repeat poacher Donald Dexter Dixon was placed on an 18-month probation order and required to perform 140 hours of community service after he was caught taking nearly four dozen conch from a protected area during the closed season.

Even though Cayman enjoyed a successful nesting season in 2022 when a record-breaking 858 nests were logged for the year, it will take several years for those hatchlings to make their way back here to start the cycle of nesting.

This is why it is key that the mature turtles are protected to ensure continuation of the species, conservation officers say.

“Taking any species of sea turtle from the wild is an illegal offence because their numbers are so fragile that it’s unsustainable, even for the small populations of our islands,” the DoE added.

The department is urging the community to help protect Cayman’s wild turtles from illegal poaching by reporting any suspected illegal activity to DoE’s conservation officers on 916-4271.