Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Ravi Ratiram guided a turtle watching excursion at the Grand Riviere Turtle Nesting Site on Saturday. During the tour, he brought a renewed focus to the protection of endangered leatherback turtles.
Many gathered at Grand Riviere on Saturday, to get a glimpse of nesting activities at one of the world’s most densely populated leatherback nesting sites.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Ravi Ratiram said the tour provided an opportunity for the public to gain a greater understanding of what the Grand Riviere Turtle Nesting Site has to offer.
This is a very special place. It’s a place that places Trinidad and Tobago on the world map because there’s a record for this turtle nesting area. It is actually the most dense turtle nesting area beachfront, throughout the world. The turtles come here, when they come, they lay their eggs, they will travel all the way to Canada, they will travel around the world, and even about two to three years after, they return right here to lay their eggs.”
Deputy Permanent Secretary at the ministry Denny Dipchansingh reminded that leatherback turtles play an integral role in the ecosystem.
It is for this reason he said they are given some of the highest levels of protection.
“They are covered both under the Conservation of Wildlife Act and also the EM Act. and the carrier
a pretty high fine the maximum penalty is a hundred thousand dollars and two years imprisonment
which is really there to deter individuals from harming these specially protected species.”
Tour guide Len Peters said for him, protecting endangered sea turtles is more than a duty.
“This is not what we do. This is who we are. The turtle’s nest in our community. We see it as an obligation
and a responsibility to give them the best protection possible. And that protection, therefore,
doesn’t resonate with the turtle, but it resonates with how we can impact change in people.
We see that over time, that change has borne fruit. We’ve seen people come here with no attitude,
leave energized and excited about a sea turtle.”
Minister Ratiram also shared that the ministry expected to further strengthen protection efforts with the relaunch of the honorary game warden programme.