By Prior Beharry
BEACH patrols during the turtle nesting season will be allowed only for data collection and conservation.
Minster of Health Terrence Deyalsingh has amended the Public Health Regulations to allow for these patrols after 6pm when all beaches in Trinidad and Tobago are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Section 5 (5) of the Public Health [2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)] (No. 6) 207 Regulations, 2021 , dated March 17, 2021, states: “A person shall only be on a beach during the hours 6 am to 6 pm on any day except with the approval of the Minister.”
In a release on Thursday, Minister of Planning and Development Camille Robinson-Regis described it as “a win for sea turtles and the communities promoting their conservation.”
She said, “Minister Deyalsingh will by letter issue the exemption allowing selected individuals on T&T’s beaches after 6 pm for turtle patrols and data collection ‘only.’”
Chairman of Nature Seekers Kyle Mitchell said, “We definitely happy that the exemption was granted so we can collect data.”
He said that despite social aspect where people would be employed for tours, data collection was important for future activities.
The turtle nesting season started on March 1.
Robinson-Regis said a plan and recommendations were presented by the recently appointed Sea Turtle Task Force, chaired by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) which formed the basis of a discussion with the Health Minister owing to the amendment of the previous regulation forbidding all activities related to beaches after 6 pm.
In this plan, the task force proposed a system involving the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and the local communities where a list of persons from the communities will be selected and endorsed by the Forestry Division, a release from the Public Utilities Ministry.
The TTPS will receive this list and monitor the sea turtle sites and the other beaches to ensure that only authorised individuals and groups are conducting the turtle patrol and research activities after 6 pm, the release stated.
It stated that communities with high visits of sea turtles have also committed to increase their vigilance to provide support to the authorities.
The release stated that more than $30 million has been granted over the past seven years from the Green Fund for research and conservation activities by community organisations in Trinidad and Tobago such as the Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville (ERIC), the Institute of Marine Affairs, the Turtle Village Trust and the EMA among others.
In 2018, the penalties for harming Environmentally Sensitive Species was raised to 2 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.
Five species of sea turtles visit our shores, namely the Leatherback, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Green and Olive Ridley turtles, which have all received the designation of Environmentally Sensitive Species (ESS) by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) under the ESS Rules, 2001 through Legal Notice Nos. 88-92 of 2014.
The Leatherback turtle is listed as vulnerable, the Loggerhead is also vulnerable, the Hawksbill is critically endangered, the Green turtle is endangered and the Olive Ridley is listed as another vulnerable species.
In a release recently, EMA that the decision to halt beach patrols last year due to Covid-19 protocols resulted in the increased harm being done to the turtles during its annual nesting season that is presently in effect.
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