We would like to invite all to a Sea Turtle Workshop being held on July 27 at 2:30 p.m. at the Treasure Beach Women's Group. This workshop is being held by Jamaica Environmental Trust (JET).

Come one and all and learn about:

1) A basic overview on sea turtles, paying specific attention to the ones that may be found in Jamaica.
2) Threats to these magnificent creatures
3) How to monitor them, what to look for, etc.; and
4) The protection afforded them and how we can each make a difference

We would like to encourage the staff of all properties located directly on the seaside to attend so they can look for the signs of turtle nests and see how they can help protect and monitor them.

All villas and guest houses who have their staff attend will receive a laminated version of a sheet stating they are a "Sea Turtle Friendly Accommodation" including what the guests can do to participate in spotting turtle nesting sites. In addition, a list of all "Sea Turtle Friendly Accommodations” will be posted on TB.Net.

Please pass the word to young, old and in between and join us in becoming a Sea Turtle Friendly Community! Please R.S.V.P. to Rebecca@treasuretours.info if you are interested in attending so we have an idea of how many persons will be attending.

Thank You
JET (Jamaica Environmental Trust)
TB.Net

Will word get out in any other manner, such as postings in the establishments etc around town? Upcoming music events are always posted, but they do not have to be that fancy..
This may be the best way for some folks to be aware. To be honest, I know alot of turtle loving TB'ers that hang out at the bars.

I am printing them out as I am typing this. Notices and posters will be distributed today.

Mongoose Predation on Sea Turtle Eggs & Nests

We have seen them darting into verges at the sides of the road all over the island...the small Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus). We have all heard the stories that, in their native India, they take on deadly cobra snakes of far greater size and end up the victor. Anecdotes have even extolled their lightening-quick wits in the abhorrent, illegal training of fighting pit bulls.

As Oliver Senior tells their story in ...Jamaican Heritage, they were introduced to the Island to destroy the cane piece rats, which foraged in the daytime, and were so voracious that several sugar plantations had to be shut down. These were the days when the "Rat Catcher" was di "mon-to-see".

"It is said that all mongooses in the Western Hemisphere are descendants of four males and five females introduced from India in 1872 to control the rat population on the sugar estate of one William Bancroft Espeut." (Might this be a direct ancestor of our prominent Catholic deacon-social working environmentalist, Peter Espeut?)

Olive Senior further states that that the mongooses' introduction, locally, is "frequently cited in textbooks as one of the ways in which the balance of nature can so easily be upset."

"From Espeut's mongooses, the creature spread all over the island, and ten years after its introduction was saving the island £45,00 annually. However, by 1890, the mongoose had become such a problem that a commision was formed to enquire into its habits...". They were reducing fruit supplies, capturing chickens & other farm animals, even going after crabs.

"They soon went on to outgrow their function, eventually being held responsible for killing off five endemic vertebrates (including the harmless yellow snake), and bringing Jamaica's iguanas (& coneys) to the verge of extinction." (Oliver Hill)

We have observed some of our neighbours setting mongoose traps for fear of their ravaging sea turtle eggs & we would like to hear JET's take on the humane & environmentally correct way to handle the problem.

"Mongoose tracks are commonly observed around turtle nests and may be a significant cause of mortality in hatchling sea turtles...
The presence of mongoose tracks adjacent to turtle nests also sheds little light on the direct impact of mongoose on sea turtle recruitment."
http://mongoose.wsc.ma.edu/research

Mongoose Trapping

http://mongoose.wsc.ma.edu/mongoose-trapping-videos
http://mongoose.wsc.ma.edu/

I certainly hope sea turtle protection is treated seriously in Treasure Beach. There are so many things over which the residents have no control, but they can make Treasure Beach a place that is known for protection of these magnifcent creatures. Much luck in this venture, people.

The response we are getting is very encouraging. Please continue to spread the word and ask folks to attend!

28 persons attended the meeting today! It was a great meeting. I learned so very much! Turtles are really an amazing animal! Thanks so very much to the Jamaica Environmental Trust (JET) team with special thanks to Christine O'Sullivan for all they did in preparation for this meeting and for coming out from Kingston today to educate us on these amazing creatures.

Special thanks also to Sally Thomas, Carvel, and Bobby for the exceptional work they have been doing to save and protect the sea turtles in Billy's Bay. Sally spent a great deal of time and energy informiing and educating Carvel and Bobby on how to track and protect the sea turtles. Since then they have walked the beach between Billy's Bay and Ft. Charles every morning and have noted the laying of eggs, etc. Carvel gave us an extremely interesting report on their progress. They have seen 30 turtles come ashore and lay eggs. There are some ready to hatch this week! In addition, they have collected 5 very large bags of garbage off of the beach. Carvel said the main garbage is plastic bottles and plastic bags. Remember, this is an area that is mostly unpopulated so the garbage is just washing up on shore. Carvel joined me in my enthusiasm to rid TB of scandal (plastic) bags when we showed the video informing us on how bad they are for the environment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhxX1g9A2OM. I asked Carvel and Bobby to call me when they see any hatchlings, so let's hope we have photos soon. Unfortunately, they did see one turtle murdered on the beach about two weeks ago in the area know as Black Springs. They said she was butchered for the meat and they said the saddest part was she hadn't laid her eggs so not only was the turtle murdered but the potential of more turtles was murdered at the same time.

I also heard after the meeting of several persons ready to murder another turtle in Calabash Bay, but thanks to persons who were educated on the importance of protecting the turtles, they were stopped. Again, unfortunately she was not able to lay her eggs before being captured.

Did you know that in 1898 there were over 11 million Hawksbill Sea Turtles in the Caribbean and now their numbers are down to 30,000. Green Sea Turtles numbered approximately 90 million and now we are down to 300,000. Please read that last sentence again and let these numbers sink in.

Our hope is this meeting will help educate persons on the need to protect and preserve these amazing animals. We hope it showed there is more money to be made in protecting these turtles for tourism interests than in killing them for the meat or the shells. We hope it showed that anyone found killing these turtles or having any turtle eggs, meat, shell (including jewelry) can be heavily fined and put in jail.

What can we as villa staff and villa guests do to protect the sea turtle?



Let's all work together to make Treasure Beach a shining example of how Jamaica can protect and preserve the sea turtles!

You can view photos of this meeting here or by the link in the Photo Gallery

Not included in the previous photo was one of the biggest issues in confusing the sea turtle from coming onto a beach and nesting is bright lights. They follow the light of the moon so if there are bright lights anywhere they will be confused.

Please, please make sure no bright lights are turned on at any seaside homes. If you are guests in a seaside villa, please make sure not to put on any bright outside lights. If the house is close to the sea, pull down the shades in the windows.

If you are walking down the beach or if you absolutely need a light on at the villa, please use a red or diffused light.

If you see a turtle on the beach do not use a flashlight to look at her as this will frighten and confuse her. Do not use a flash on a camera to take photos as this will also confuse and frighten her.

Thanks!

I'm gonna cry....
This is a wonderful day.
AFter all our posts on this...Finally
Nuff said.

QUESTION TO CHRISTINE O'SULLIVAN/JET/SALLY THOMAS ET AL:
The issue of the Mongoose raiding Sea Turtle eggs & nests was brought up earlier in this thread.
Was this issue discussed at the meeting? How serious an issue is it?
Should we be setting mongoose traps if we see mongoose tracks or disturbance of the turtle nests, as shown in the LINK? If so, what do you, humanely, do with a "trapped" mongoose...put it in a mongoose farm???
Is there any "ball-park" numbers as to how many mongooses there are, locally, or on the Island and are they still considered a threat to wiping out more species (iguanas/coneys)?

Yes, the mongoose problem was discussed. The analogy was given that what Lion fish are to the waters of the Caribbean mongoose are to the land. They are far from endangered and many feel do more harm than good. Carvel said they were trapping mongoose but were having a better result with laying mesh over the nest and putting rocks around the edges of the mesh. This seems to keep the mongoose out. Christine was very interested in hearing more about this as mongoose and dogs continue to be two of the biggest threats to the eggs.

Here is another question about protecting our turtles. We all know dogs run on the beach. These are not necessarily homeless dogs but tying them up or keeping them in our yard is almost impossible. Some of them love to dig up things on the beach. Being realistic, what do we do about this?

The following is the list of accommodations who's staff participated in the workshop yesterday and are now educated in correct ways to preserve and protect sea turtles. Therefore, these establishments are considered to be "Turtle Friendly Accommodations".

Bebe's Place
Calabash House
Doubloon Villa
Fairhill Villa
Golden Sands Guest House
Hope House
Jamaica Beach Cottages
Minerva Villa
Pon de Rock
Rainbow Tree
Rainbow Point
Rock Villa
Serenity Lodge
Shakti Home
Sparkling Waters Villas

Congratulations to all of the above accommodations for taking the time to learn more on how we can protect our environment. Thanks also, to all members of the community who attended this meeting which included boat tour operators, builders, fishermen, etc. showing us you care.

This was a great step in educating ourselves on what we, as each and every individual as well as a community, can do to make a difference.

Thanks again to JET for helping and guiding us through and thanks to the Treasure Beach Women's Group for donating their house for the meeting.

I spoke with one of the attendees of the meeting on the phone this morning and he made my day! He said after viewing the short film showing us the damages plastic bags do to the environment when he went to the store this morning and the checkout person was about to put his things in a bag he told her not to, went to his car, got a bag, and used that instead!!!!! I couldn't be happier to hear this.

I think TB should strive to be the first community in Jamaica to be scandal bag free!

How does an establishment get the "Turtle Friendly Rating?" I know a lot of the places listed have beach fences (concrete or other structures) surrounding their properties. Are they going to take down their beach walls?

All over the UK businesses are selling their own hemp reusable shopping bags.Many have also produced thicker multi use bags which can be used over and over again saving over 2 billion plastic single-use bags. As a result plastic bag consumption has drastically reduced.Many of our large supermarkets now charge for plastic bags which has also helped.Maybe some businesses in Treasure Beach could look into having hemp bags made for locals and visitors to buy. Here they are normally less than £5.They are a great souvenir,good advertising and also environmentally friendly.

No turtlelove, we are not asking persons to tear down their walls. All we asked is that someone from their establishment attend the meeting to be educated on the facts of sea turtles and why they should be protected. We are not trying to move mountains all at once we are just trying to inspire a few with the hopes that they will inspire a few and so on.

Our hope is that maybe the next time some of the construction workers who attended the meeting are approached and asked to build a sea wall they can inform the person making the request of alternatives which would not harm the sea turtles.

Our hope is the bright lights burning from many villas will lesson due to this meeting and that when guests read the flyer at the villa they will understand why and join in the effort. I just had a caretaker of a villa call me today to say their guests requested a bonfire and when he explained what harm it might cause to the sea turtles they understood and withdrew their request. Now they are excited at the prospect of seeing sea turtle tracks in the mornings, which is a distinct probability considering where they are staying.

Our efforts are to move forward with more education, not look behind at what should have, would have, could have.

These are positive steps forward. Let's all join together to continue this momentum forward.

I can't help but wonder how many persons would have been at this meeting if it was held 15 years ago. Just the number of attendees is very encouraging to me!

Maybe someone could come up with a gourmet mongoose dish!

Thank you for explaining Rebecca. This is such a wonderful learning experiance.

Whatever happened to the iJamaica scandal bag elimiation program thought it was launching on Earth Day but never heard anything and now iJamaica website is gone? Anyword?

I was just sent the following links on appropriate lighting for sea turtles.

Please check them out!

http://www.turtlenests.org/pdf/FWC-LightFixture-Handout.pdf

http://www.turtlenests.org/pdf/LightingTechReport.pdf

Deanne (who was with ijamaica) is now living in St Elizabeth and the re-usable bag project seems to be continuing with TBWG and Deanne.

I say we have a "scandal bag free" TB!

I walk the beach early morning and have seen tracks and nesting sites from early July.

Took good photos of the last two day before and yesterday.

Did I hear something about iguanas?

Turey-
if you are agreeable, please email your turtle photos to:
Diana McCauley at JET.

They are trying to gather as much proof as possible so as to protect the turtles more.. and nothing stronger than photographs to have as proof.

her email is:
jamentrust@cwjamaica.com

Will do.

CK, check me if you can upload and send what I have on my flash drive.

An old boy called to me this morning. He was thrilled to have witnessed a huge turtle laying after dawn this morning.

His turtle, no one will touch 'his' nest.

GREAT news .. another nesting

Wonderful...please send details with photos if possible to JET at jamentrust@cwjamaica.com.

could you please put the pictures on TB.NET, we would like to see them. Thank you

Thank you Cookie Kinkead for sharing what you saw on your walk down the beach a few days ago!

Ah, so BEAUTIFUL, hope the eggs are safe.....thank you for shearing this pictures,,beautiful beautiful..

Please encourage all those who witness the turtles laying to document the event.
Best way is with photographs. But if no camera then write down the time and date and location and send to JET.

It is magical to see this happen.

And when you think only 1 in 1000 eggs survive, we should do whatever we can to help them.

Three more nestings on monday night.

That's just fabulous news, Turey! Thanks for the update.

Two more last night. One "U" turn from a lady who may have tried again later.

The winds and waves obliterate tracks and later, traces of nest area.

JET, all layings are west of the middle of the Bay I mentioned.

I heard there are turtles near Rainbow Tree in Billys Bay. True?

It is encouraging that there is interest in documenting layings and further protection among many locals.

A regular beach cleanup and serviced garbage drums are starts to conserving our sea/beach treasures.

I hope we have a turtle nesting map available for planners and nature lovers eventually.

Two more on monday night. The nests seemed undisturbed when I last walked the area.

My wife and I saw tracks and nest a few years ago between Hikaru and Rainbow Tree. We quickly got some thatch palm fronds and did our best to obliterate the tracks

Wonderful. Totally wonderful.

Just got an updated report from Carvel. He and his co-turtle protectors have recorded seeing 40 ness and just last week see where 4 have hatched. This incorporates the area from Billy's Bay to Ft. Charles.

Well done!!

I encourage you to take pictures and record dates of nestings etc as its the best (and possibly only) way we can get this area protected with NEPA.

Guess how I spent my morning! I got a phone call from Leandy about 6:45 this morning telling me to come quick. My friend Christina is visiting me so we both flew into the car, picked up Leandy and were off . . .

We met up with Carvel and Bobby walked past 3 new tracks of turtles laying their eggs last night and came on a nest of hatched eggs. 210 eggs, 142 hatched babies!! Bobby said 117 had hatched even earlier this morning just down the beach a bit.

They are currently watching over 30 nests which are due to hatch.

This is something I have always dreamed of seeing. All of us, including the seasoned turtle caregivers Bobby and Carvel, were just laughing and full of smiles watching these absolutely amazing creatures making their way down the beach and into the sea. I sit here with fingers hesitating over the keyboard as I cannot find the words to describe how fortunate I feel to have witnessed this.



This has absolutely reinforced in me the need to continue to educate folks on the importance of preserving this magnificent creature.

Thanks so very much to Sally, Carvel, Bobby, Leandy, Diana and the JET crew and everyone else who has helped to educate me about the sea turtles!

You can view photos here or by the link in the Photo Gallery

What a morning!

What??? And you didn't call me. Unforgivable ;)

Wow!! Those pictures are amazing. I have never seen so many baby sea turtles at once.

Very sincere thanks to all of you for what you are doing to protect the sea turtles and to encourage them to thrive in Treasure Beach. Thank you, Rebecca, for taking these wonderful photos to share with us.

Another phone call at 6 this morning and another wonderful sight! 160 more babies this morning!!

You can view photos here or by the link in the Photo Gallery

Aunt Rebecca, what an amazing sighting! The babies are precious :-) Great pics!

Got another phone call this morning!! 150 more babies.





Bobby and Carvel said 4 nests have hatched in the last 2 days (over 500 babies) and 10 more nests should be hatching before the end of the month.

Right next to this hatched nest was a fresh track from a turtle coming up last night and laying her eggs. 27 nests are now being monitored by Bobby and Carvel!

Can tell is in the same area, a lot of new faces comming around these site of town now, I do wonder if these is a good thing.