Travelers
Yndiana Montes | May 2021
Leatherback Turtles are giant prehistoric creatures. They’re still climbing out of the sea and up the sands to lay their eggs, as their ancestors would have done 65 million years ago. The largest of all living turtles and the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians, these turtles are the only surviving species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. Leatherback turtles have the most hydrodynamic body design of any sea turtle. Their large, teardrop-shaped body is fascinating, as are their large pair of front flippers which power them through the water. Leatherback turtles spend almost all their lives in water. “Once on the beach they are slow movers and have been targeted as prey by dogs, jaguars and humans” (Danny, 2013). They survived the Mesozoic age and the dinosaurs, but despite this they remain vulnerable and hatchlings face dangers like pollutants, plastic bags, and predators such as crabs, raccoons, and dogs (Danny, 2013).
I’m lucky to have seen Leatherback turtles on the beaches in a couple places in the Caribbean because as a travel writer I’ve been invited to many tourism destinations in and outside the region. I can imagine their ancestors emerging slowly while listening to the roaring of the dinosaurs in the forest of Matura Beach, Trinidad, and in Shell Beach, Guyana. Their ancestral nesting sites are in jeopardy because of deforestation, agriculture, and the development of the tourism industry, which makes them especially vulnerable. It takes an unusual combination of people and nature to protect them.
In the recent past, indigenous peoples from Venezuela known as Caribs and Warrau colonized the shores of what today is Northwestern Guyana. It’s likely they were familiar with not only the marine turtle populations, but also with other species, and that they ate their meat and eggs. In Venezuela the turtle cake (pastel de morrocoy) is a very popular Easter dish. I remember seeing turtles boiling in water alive in a huge pan. Maids knew how to make the dish, and I was always impressed with how diligently maids knocked them in the head with a heavy wood spoon when the turtles tried desperately to surface. The process could take hours. Morrocoyes were in every backyard in my country of origin.
Going back to the marine turtles and their recent history, the various colonial powers: the Spaniards, the Dutch, the French and the British, had some knowledge on them but there aren’t any records (Pritchard, 2009). I’m sure they discovered quickly that the eggs were ridiculously easy to catch and very tasty. Approximately five hundred years later, I landed in Guyana for the first time. It was the year 2000 and there were some interesting things happening. The occasion was the Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC), organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation. Approximately thirty travel writers were invited to the conference, but geopolitics and timing were playing against me, the only Venezuelan attending the event. Many Guyanese were scared to death by Hugo Chavez. He assumed Venezuela's presidency in 1999, and his populist platform and "socialist revolution" were threatening Guyana’s geographical integrity. The long time dispute between Venezuela and Guyana for the Essequibo region escalated because of “The Beal Deal,” the satellite launching project which was in the front page of every newspaper, with the photo of Chavez, while I was attending the event (Wall Street Journal, 2000).
The Leatherback turtles came into the political arena in response to “The Beal Deal.” Venezuela began to vigorously protest this satellite launching project arguing it could have military applications; Guyana denied the assertion (Wall Street Journal, 2000). The location was very close to the actual Venezuelan Northern border, the Barima-Waini region. There aren’t roads to cross to Venezuela and the area is pretty wild, although in the 1990s logging companies began exploiting timber in the area, a great producer of cabbage and sweet cassava. This area is the home of the Leatherback turtles, and a few years ago they were reportedly experiencing population growth by the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS) at Shell Beach.
The Barima-Waini region is environmentally fragile because of its soil composition. The area is a very important breeding ground for sea turtles, originally mostly swamp and marshland. A lot of the vegetation has been cleared for farming. The swamps and marshes are important because they are rich in nutrients and biodiversity, but already the area has lost ecological balance due to the nearby activity, which is bad for the turtles and other species living there. If Guyana were to establish an aerospace base in this region, it would destroy the local ecology.
The Leatherback turtles were in the center of the controversy on these days of the STC conference. It was Hugo Chavez who accused Guyana and the U.S. government for being responsible for the project that could allow or deny the export of technology to Venezuela. The U.S. embassy in Caracas said it was a private deal between a U.S. company and a foreign country, and that the technology license would be conceded or rejected based on standard procedures for such exports (Wall Street Journal, 2000). Guyanese conservationist Anette Arjoon was a keynote speaker at the STC conference and is a leader in protecting Guyana wildlife who has been an advocate for turtle conservation and tourism awareness. Pressure was mounting, and Anette Arjoon fought against the “Beal Deal” because it would deteriorate the environment for the turtles. As a result, some Guyanese were disappointed, wondering: “Is she on the same side of Chavez?” He was considered a foreign threat, as Venezuela has been trying to reclaim the Barima-Waini region.
Arjoon has been involved in the conservation of marine turtles. The population of marine turtles in the early ‘80s was devastated, with carcases scattered all over the nesting habitat, as a result of the fact that every turtle that came to lay eggs was being killed by local fishermen and turtle hunters alike. In 1988, Dr. Peter Pritchard (1943 – 2020), world-renowned Turtle Specialist, started a remarkable conservation programme in the middle of the turtle nesting season. Tagging, rescuing, relocating of eggs and releasing of hatchlings to their safety in the sea, and at the same time trying their best to convince the turtle hunters to stop killing the adult turtles and harvesting their eggs. As a result of Dr. Pritchard’s conservation programme, students and locals learn about marine turtles and their environment, forestry, coastal management and protected areas. “Generally, in its entire life cycle a sea turtle faces deadly circumstances… from the time the eggs are deposited in the sand. Most beaches and coastal areas, especially on the South American Coast, have inland swamps and high tides, so whenever the rain falls and the tide level rises, a lot of turtles’ eggs are being spoiled or doom on the beaches,” said his son, Romeo De Freitas, who is continuing his work (Danny, 2013). These Education and Monitoring programmes have been funded by various entities over the years, like the Chelonian Research Institute (CRI), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Leatherback turtles travel nearly 12,000 kilometers every year from Canada to the Caribbean. In Shell Beach, Guyana, the Leatherbacks started to lay their eggs at an average of eight turtles per night. One hundred and ninety-nine Leatherbacks were recorded over six weeks along with eight Hawksbills. Thousands of hatchlings have also been released and continue on a nightly basis from the hatchery. The Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society, with assistance from various agencies, has been trying to protect the marine turtles. However, it is very challenging to conserve the turtles when fishing is a major economic activity in riverine and coastal communities. Unfortunately, on the shores of Trinidad and Tobago — which are another vital site for the turtles — the Leatherback turtles are being threatened by fishermen like those in Grande Riviere, a remote settlement in Trinidad. Kyle Charles, the President of the Grande Riviere Young Fisherman Association, explains that “the biggest threat to turtles it seems, is fisherman, who have a love-hate relationship with these marine animals” (Hosein, 2009). Fishermen are catching Leatherback turtles unintentionally when they get entangled in the fishermen’s nets, which is dangerous for both the fishermen and for the turtles, who often end up dead.
In the Caribbean region, it’s a priority to unify policies and efforts in order to protect forests and oceans in order to keep the Leatherback turltes’s ancestral routine going for many centuries more. Conservationists are far beyond territorial boundaries and disputes because in this case scenario it didn’t matter whether Guyana or Venezuela had ownership of the Barima-Waini region, what was important is that the “Beal Deal'' would result in the loss of biodiversity in the soil microbiome. The governments of the Caribbean islands and countries need to listen to the scientific consensus on what produces environmental impacts, and they need to understand the dangers posed by climate change and development on the Leatherback turtle.
Sources
Danny, Keeran. “Endangered Marine Turtle Populations Increasing in Guyana.” Kaieteur News,
2013,https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/06/30/endangered-marine-turtle-populations-increasing-in-guyana/
Hosein, Kalain. “Fishermen Admit They’re to Blame for Declining Turtle Population.” CNC3,
2021, www.cnc3.co.tt/fishermen-admit-theyre-to-blame-for-declining-turtle-population/.
Pritchard, Peter C. H. “History of Sea Turtles in Guyana.” Widecast, 2009.
www.widecast.org/What/Country/Guyana/Docs/History_of_Sea_Turtles_in_Guyana.pdf.
“Venezuela Celebrates End Of Beal Satellite Project.” The Wall Street Journal, 5
Oct 2000, www.wsj.com/articles/SB972420281221386761
Yndiana Montes | May 2021
Leatherback Turtles are giant prehistoric creatures. They’re still climbing out of the sea and up the sands to lay their eggs, as their ancestors would have done 65 million years ago. The largest of all living turtles and the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians, these turtles are the only surviving species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. Leatherback turtles have the most hydrodynamic body design of any sea turtle. Their large, teardrop-shaped body is fascinating, as are their large pair of front flippers which power them through the water. Leatherback turtles spend almost all their lives in water. “Once on the beach they are slow movers and have been targeted as prey by dogs, jaguars and humans” (Danny, 2013). They survived the Mesozoic age and the dinosaurs, but despite this they remain vulnerable and hatchlings face dangers like pollutants, plastic bags, and predators such as crabs, raccoons, and dogs (Danny, 2013).
I’m lucky to have seen Leatherback turtles on the beaches in a couple places in the Caribbean because as a travel writer I’ve been invited to many tourism destinations in and outside the region. I can imagine their ancestors emerging slowly while listening to the roaring of the dinosaurs in the forest of Matura Beach, Trinidad, and in Shell Beach, Guyana. Their ancestral nesting sites are in jeopardy because of deforestation, agriculture, and the development of the tourism industry, which makes them especially vulnerable. It takes an unusual combination of people and nature to protect them.
In the recent past, indigenous peoples from Venezuela known as Caribs and Warrau colonized the shores of what today is Northwestern Guyana. It’s likely they were familiar with not only the marine turtle populations, but also with other species, and that they ate their meat and eggs. In Venezuela the turtle cake (pastel de morrocoy) is a very popular Easter dish. I remember seeing turtles boiling in water alive in a huge pan. Maids knew how to make the dish, and I was always impressed with how diligently maids knocked them in the head with a heavy wood spoon when the turtles tried desperately to surface. The process could take hours. Morrocoyes were in every backyard in my country of origin.
Going back to the marine turtles and their recent history, the various colonial powers: the Spaniards, the Dutch, the French and the British, had some knowledge on them but there aren’t any records (Pritchard, 2009). I’m sure they discovered quickly that the eggs were ridiculously easy to catch and very tasty. Approximately five hundred years later, I landed in Guyana for the first time. It was the year 2000 and there were some interesting things happening. The occasion was the Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC), organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation. Approximately thirty travel writers were invited to the conference, but geopolitics and timing were playing against me, the only Venezuelan attending the event. Many Guyanese were scared to death by Hugo Chavez. He assumed Venezuela's presidency in 1999, and his populist platform and "socialist revolution" were threatening Guyana’s geographical integrity. The long time dispute between Venezuela and Guyana for the Essequibo region escalated because of “The Beal Deal,” the satellite launching project which was in the front page of every newspaper, with the photo of Chavez, while I was attending the event (Wall Street Journal, 2000).
The Leatherback turtles came into the political arena in response to “The Beal Deal.” Venezuela began to vigorously protest this satellite launching project arguing it could have military applications; Guyana denied the assertion (Wall Street Journal, 2000). The location was very close to the actual Venezuelan Northern border, the Barima-Waini region. There aren’t roads to cross to Venezuela and the area is pretty wild, although in the 1990s logging companies began exploiting timber in the area, a great producer of cabbage and sweet cassava. This area is the home of the Leatherback turtles, and a few years ago they were reportedly experiencing population growth by the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS) at Shell Beach.
The Barima-Waini region is environmentally fragile because of its soil composition. The area is a very important breeding ground for sea turtles, originally mostly swamp and marshland. A lot of the vegetation has been cleared for farming. The swamps and marshes are important because they are rich in nutrients and biodiversity, but already the area has lost ecological balance due to the nearby activity, which is bad for the turtles and other species living there. If Guyana were to establish an aerospace base in this region, it would destroy the local ecology.
The Leatherback turtles were in the center of the controversy on these days of the STC conference. It was Hugo Chavez who accused Guyana and the U.S. government for being responsible for the project that could allow or deny the export of technology to Venezuela. The U.S. embassy in Caracas said it was a private deal between a U.S. company and a foreign country, and that the technology license would be conceded or rejected based on standard procedures for such exports (Wall Street Journal, 2000). Guyanese conservationist Anette Arjoon was a keynote speaker at the STC conference and is a leader in protecting Guyana wildlife who has been an advocate for turtle conservation and tourism awareness. Pressure was mounting, and Anette Arjoon fought against the “Beal Deal” because it would deteriorate the environment for the turtles. As a result, some Guyanese were disappointed, wondering: “Is she on the same side of Chavez?” He was considered a foreign threat, as Venezuela has been trying to reclaim the Barima-Waini region.
Arjoon has been involved in the conservation of marine turtles. The population of marine turtles in the early ‘80s was devastated, with carcases scattered all over the nesting habitat, as a result of the fact that every turtle that came to lay eggs was being killed by local fishermen and turtle hunters alike. In 1988, Dr. Peter Pritchard (1943 – 2020), world-renowned Turtle Specialist, started a remarkable conservation programme in the middle of the turtle nesting season. Tagging, rescuing, relocating of eggs and releasing of hatchlings to their safety in the sea, and at the same time trying their best to convince the turtle hunters to stop killing the adult turtles and harvesting their eggs. As a result of Dr. Pritchard’s conservation programme, students and locals learn about marine turtles and their environment, forestry, coastal management and protected areas. “Generally, in its entire life cycle a sea turtle faces deadly circumstances… from the time the eggs are deposited in the sand. Most beaches and coastal areas, especially on the South American Coast, have inland swamps and high tides, so whenever the rain falls and the tide level rises, a lot of turtles’ eggs are being spoiled or doom on the beaches,” said his son, Romeo De Freitas, who is continuing his work (Danny, 2013). These Education and Monitoring programmes have been funded by various entities over the years, like the Chelonian Research Institute (CRI), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Leatherback turtles travel nearly 12,000 kilometers every year from Canada to the Caribbean. In Shell Beach, Guyana, the Leatherbacks started to lay their eggs at an average of eight turtles per night. One hundred and ninety-nine Leatherbacks were recorded over six weeks along with eight Hawksbills. Thousands of hatchlings have also been released and continue on a nightly basis from the hatchery. The Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society, with assistance from various agencies, has been trying to protect the marine turtles. However, it is very challenging to conserve the turtles when fishing is a major economic activity in riverine and coastal communities. Unfortunately, on the shores of Trinidad and Tobago — which are another vital site for the turtles — the Leatherback turtles are being threatened by fishermen like those in Grande Riviere, a remote settlement in Trinidad. Kyle Charles, the President of the Grande Riviere Young Fisherman Association, explains that “the biggest threat to turtles it seems, is fisherman, who have a love-hate relationship with these marine animals” (Hosein, 2009). Fishermen are catching Leatherback turtles unintentionally when they get entangled in the fishermen’s nets, which is dangerous for both the fishermen and for the turtles, who often end up dead.
In the Caribbean region, it’s a priority to unify policies and efforts in order to protect forests and oceans in order to keep the Leatherback turltes’s ancestral routine going for many centuries more. Conservationists are far beyond territorial boundaries and disputes because in this case scenario it didn’t matter whether Guyana or Venezuela had ownership of the Barima-Waini region, what was important is that the “Beal Deal'' would result in the loss of biodiversity in the soil microbiome. The governments of the Caribbean islands and countries need to listen to the scientific consensus on what produces environmental impacts, and they need to understand the dangers posed by climate change and development on the Leatherback turtle.
Sources
Danny, Keeran. “Endangered Marine Turtle Populations Increasing in Guyana.” Kaieteur News,
2013,https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/06/30/endangered-marine-turtle-populations-increasing-in-guyana/
Hosein, Kalain. “Fishermen Admit They’re to Blame for Declining Turtle Population.” CNC3,
2021, www.cnc3.co.tt/fishermen-admit-theyre-to-blame-for-declining-turtle-population/.
Pritchard, Peter C. H. “History of Sea Turtles in Guyana.” Widecast, 2009.
www.widecast.org/What/Country/Guyana/Docs/History_of_Sea_Turtles_in_Guyana.pdf.
“Venezuela Celebrates End Of Beal Satellite Project.” The Wall Street Journal, 5
Oct 2000, www.wsj.com/articles/SB972420281221386761