St. Lucia

Excerpted from:
Bräutigam, A. and K. L. Eckert. 2006. Turning the Tide: Exploitation, Trade and Management of Marine Turtles in the Lesser Antilles, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela. TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, UK.

The first piece of known legislation governing sea turtles in Saint Lucia was the Turtle and Fish Protection Ordinance Cap. 45 of July 08, 1911. This was repealed by the Turtle, Lobster and Fish Protection Act (No. 13 of 1971), which was, in turn, repealed by the Fisheries Act No. 10 of 1984. The Fisheries (Turtle, Lobster and Fish Protection) Regulations No. 67 of 1987 were then enacted, which were repealed by the Fisheries Regulations No. 9 of 1994. The Fisheries Act No. 10 of 1984, which still holds today, prescribes measures under section 39 (2) (q) for the protection of turtles, lobsters and conch. The 1984 Act forms the basis for the current Fisheries Regulations No. 9 of 1994, which states in section 33:

“No person shall:

– disturb, remove from the fishery waters, expose for sale, sell, purchase, or at any time have in his possession any turtle eggs;
– interfere with any turtle nest, or turtle that is nesting;
– remove from the fishery waters, expose for sale, sell, purchase, or at any time have in his possession any undersized turtle;
– set within 100 meters of the shores of Saint Lucia any net or seine or any other artifice for the purpose of or with the intention of fishing for, catching or taking any turtle; and
– fish for, remove from the fishery waters, or at any time have in his possession, expose for sale, sell, or purchase any turtle between the 28th day of February to the 1st day of October in every year or as otherwise stated by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette an in a newspaper which is printed or circulated in the State.

In this Regulation –
– “turtle” includes the whole or any part of any turtle;
– “undersized” means a weight less than –
– 27.22 kilograms for Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata);
– 34.02 kilograms for Green (Chelonia mydas) and Loggerhead (Caretta caretta); or
– 29.84 kilograms for Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea)”.

D’Auvergne, C. and K. L. Eckert. 1993. Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for St. Lucia. UNEP Caribbean Environment Program. CEP Technical Report No. 26. 70 pp.

How to Behave Around Sea Turtles: Prepared by Dawn Pierre-Nathoniel (2006).

Murray, P. A. 1984. National Report for Saint Lucia. Pp. 370–380. In: P.R. Bacon et al. (Eds). Proceedings of the First Western Atlantic Turtle Symposium, III, Appendix 7. University of Miami Press, Florida.

Sea Turtles-A Historical Perspective: The Case of Saint Lucia: Prepared by Dawn Pierre-Nathoniel and Thomas Nelson (2006) (attached).

The Desbarras Sea Turtle Watch Communty-Based Management Initiative Moving Forward.

Nevis Wildlife
Diving and Snorkeling in St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network
St. Christopher Heritage Society
Nevis Turtle Group