Marine turtles face extinction in Western Region

Illegal poaching of sea turtles in some communities along the coast of the Western Region is threatening the very existence of the large marine creature, the Fisheries Commission has warned.

According to the commission, the sea turtle, a creature that inhabits tropical and sub-tropical seas of the world, has become a delicacy in some coastline communities in the region, leading to the people hunting them in spite of the laws that allow the turtles to be protected.

The commission explained that at a certain time of the year, the turtles visit the shore to nest by laying eggs and it is during that period that they are trapped and killed for consumption.

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Protection

Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Sekondi, the Officer in charge of the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Division of the Fisheries Commission, Mr Theodore Kwadjosse, said the regional office was concerned about the development because the country had made an undertaking to protect the marine turtle.

He explained that a law was passed, which made it an offence punishable by a fine, imprisonment or both, to capture or kill or collect the eggs of turtles at any time of the year.

Mr Kwadjosse, who is also the Coordinator for the Fisheries Enforcement Unit for the western sector, said aside from the turtles becoming a delicacy and their eggs being collected and destroyed, “if care is not taken, we will see the extinction of these sea animals that are by law to be protected and not to be trapped or killed.”

The coast

The country’s coast, Mr Kwadjosse said, supported the breeding of a significant population of at least three species of turtles. “However, people continue to capture and kill them for their meat and their eggs are not spared either,” he stated.

Most of these communities, he said, span across the coast from Shama to Jomoro where after people had captured the turtles, its eggs were exposed to other domestic animals such as dogs and pigs which destroyed them completely.

Wildlife Division & Logistics

At the office of Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission in the Western Region, an officer who pleaded anonymity said it was common knowledge that the marine turtles were on the verge of extinction due to human activities and unbridled taste for the meat by some people in the communities.

To save the situation, the officer said the best way was to intensify education, which fell within the operations of the Wildlife Division. However, appropriate logistics to help fight the problem were unavailable.

According to the official, in the past there was great concern for sea turtle conservation and development as outlined by the Geneva-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

However, in most of the communities, people were not ready to respect the law or see the turtles as protected species.

Ghana Tourism Authority

At the office of the Ghana Tourism Authority, the Regional Manager, Mr Michael Kpimgbi, deplored the practice and urged the communities to desist from killing the turtles.

“I can tell you that turtles attract tourists, and tour operators plan their operations with that in mind. From far and near, tourists visit these communities just to watch the process of nesting, return of the mature turtles and how the eggs hatch and then come back to see how the hatched turtles journey back to sea,” he said.

He said many tour operators along the coastline, after several attempts to persuade the people to protect the sea creatures, had to resort to “buying the freedom of the turtles”.

““The irony here is this, after buying the turtles from the community members who have captured them, they patiently watch tour operators set the turtles free and then they are recaptured and brought back for another ransom,” he said.

Aside from the turtles, he said, some community members went to the extent of digging for the eggs and presented it to the tour operators, also for money.

The situation, he said, pointed to further education of the people in the communities about the status of marine turtles in the country.

That, he explained, might compel them to stop the killing of the turtles and the destruction of their eggs.