Ocean Sentry
(From caycompass.com)- A dead green sea turtle measuring four feet long and weighing close to 400 pounds was found on board a local fishing boat that was stopped by marine enforcement officers outside George Town harbour Wednesday morning. The female turtle, one of the largest Department of Environment officers have ever seen, had been tied up and stored in a large ice chest on board the vessel Tuesday.“It had ropes tied to its front flippers which were used to haul it into the boat,” said Mr. Orr Marine Enforcement Officers.
Poaching turtles is illegal in the Cayman Islands at all times unless a person owns a DoE–issued turtling licence. Turtles are also protected during nesting season, which runs from April through November.
Officers did not believe it was possible for one man to pull such a large turtle onto the boat by himself, so investigations were continuing to determine whether anyone else was involved.
Another green sea turtle was not so lucky in July. Marine officers were only able to find drag marks on the beach near Morritts Tortuga resort in East End where a nesting turtle had apparently been taken.
DoE officials believe poachers generally wait until a turtle comes onto the beach to lay eggs before taking them. In this latest case, it’s believed the creature was taken from the water.
(By Brent Fuller)
