I recently traveled to Barbados, one of the most eastern windward islands in the Caribbean in late August. Prior to 1998, it was legal to kill sea turtles for food and take their eggs in Barbados. Subsequently, a moratorium was placed and these activities became illegal. A few years later, fisherman noticed that green turtles would eat fish parts that were being discarded off their boats. This situation has evolved into a lucrative business for hotels and other groups in Barbados. Hundreds of people pay to snorkel and feed the turtles. Unfortunately this activity has gotten out of hand and is now potentially having negative impacts on the turtles. During my visit, I was amazed how many boats and people were in the water feeding the turtles.

Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are herbivores (plant eaters), feeding on sea grass and algae, after they return from their omnivorous (plant, invertebrate and fish eaters) pelagic life stage at about 4 years of age.

In Barbados, feeding them large quantities of fish parts has caused many of these turtles to become significantly over weight. Additionally, these turtles have become habituated to humans. Flipper tag studies in Barbados have shown that once green turtles reach a certain size class, many of them migrate to Nicaragua. It is still legal to take sea turtles for food in Nicaragua, thus these turtles are potentially easy targets.

This project was a collaboration between researchers from the University of West Indies, Ross University, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, and the government of Barbados. The focus of our research was to capture 30 green turtles from 2 populations; a supplementally fed-with-fish group and a group that were feeding on algae and sea grass and not supplemented with fish. Turtles were captured by hand while snorkeling. A very experienced fisherman that previously captured turtles for food caught the majority of turtles and often dove 40 to 60 feet to reach them.

Blood samples were collected for plasma vitamins, minerals, lipids and other health parameters.

Physical examinations, morphometric measurements, and body weights were performed on each turtle.  We have been conducting a very similar study in loggerhead sea turtles in Georgia.

One turtle had a severe boat strike injury that involved the carapace and the plastron. I was able to debride (remove dead tissue) the wound and pack it with gauze.

We then headed to the grocery store and pharmacy to get some saline for flushing the wound and guess what else-not peanut butter, yes you got it-honey. Most of you know the amazing healing properties of honey if you have visited the GSTC. It pulls debris out of the wound because of its high glucose content (hypertonic). The bee produces an enzyme found in honey called glucose oxidase which converts glucose to hydrogen peroxide. Remember the Krebs cycle when you took biochemistry and you thought you would never need that information in real life? When honey comes in contact with tissue, the pH of the honey increases from 4 to 6, which causes this enzyme to be activated. There are several other properties of honey that assist in its ability to fight infection and heal wounds.

Sincerely,
Dr. Terry Norton,
Director and Veterinarian

Among the capacity building initiatives is WIDECAST’s regional Sea Turtle Trauma Response Corps (STTRC). The aim of the STTRC is to strengthen and coordinate the efforts of people throughout the Wider Caribbean Region to respond to sea turtles in crisis, whether at sea or stranded along shoreline. The initiative includes the development of a variety of standard guidelines and field procedures manuals, as well as standardized reporting forms and database management software.

In addition to peer-reviewed guidelines, Internet-based resources, information management software, and other technical products, the STTRC provides regular training and internship opportunities for field staff and volunteers, natural resource managers, veterinarians, and rehabilitators. Recently a manual was developed entitled Marine Turtle Trauma Response Procedures: A field Guide, 2006, http://www.widecast.og/trauma). Dr. Norton’s first presentation was an overview of the field guide contents and how Caribbean veterinarians can be involved in first response initiatives for stranded sea turtles. Other presentations by Dr. Norton included “Pertinent Anesthesia and Surgery in Sea Turtles”, “Necropsy Techniques in Sea Turtles”, and “Managing a Sea Turtle Mass Mortality Event”. Other speakers and topics presented included “Sea Turtle Strandings in Barbados” by Barry Kruger and Gus Reader, “Sea Turtle Trauma Response Corps An Overview” by Kimberley Stewart, “Rehabilitation of Sea Turtles” and “Fibropapillomatosis in Sea Turtles” by Charles Manire.

Another objective of the visit was to evaluate some green turtles that have been habituated to hand feeding pieces of fish to attract tourists. Unfortunately, the turtles have become obese. Some solutions and compromises were discussed with local sea turtle conservationists such as feeding more appropriate vegetarian treats such as squash. Future trips may involve evaluating the health status of the habituated turtles and their wild counterparts that are feeding predominantly on sea grasses.