For the first time in the history of local turtle conservation, 20 juvenile sea turtles were released back into the sea after spending several months onshore at Grande Riviere.
This historic release was the first of many planned for the Headstart Programme, a new turtle conservation initiative being managed by the Turtle Village Trust and the Grande Riviere Nature Tour Guide Association (GRNTGA), in partnership with LNG production company Atlantic.
The turtles were from the green and hawksbill species. During the turtle season, the nests of these species are damaged by the nesting activity of the much larger and predominant leatherback turtles. This is one of the factors that has caused green and hawksbill turtles to be critically endangered, a release said.
Derek Daniel, manager�branding and communications, Atlantic, explained that the green and hawksbill turtles had been given a whole new lease on life, thanks to the Headstart Programme.
"Under the programme, we've had the opportunity to see these turtles grow from the hatchling state to juvenile state," Daniel said. "Today is really groundbreaking to see them head offshore.
The success rate for these turtles in particular is next to zero. These turtles would probably not have survived, except for the efforts that we put in today."
Before being placed in the Head start Programme, the turtle eggs are first relocated from their nests and placed in a turtle hatchery, which gives them a safe incubated environment.
After an average of 50 to 70 days in incubation, the hatchlings are then moved into the Headstart Programme, where they are kept in confined tanks with seawater circulating. There they are fed and monitored for up to one year, until they grow bigger and become young juveniles.
Len Peters, chairman, Grande Riviere Nature Tour Guide Association (GRNTGA) explained that the programme is designed to relocate the turtles back into their natural environment at a life stage when they could be better able to survive the natural predators that would have eaten them when they were much smaller.
"Today was basically moving the juveniles from the holding bay and into the sea, and positioning them in a place where we think they will be able to survive into the future," Peters said.
Kathryn Audroing, research manager, Turtle Village Trust, said that the Head Start Programme was one method of many being explored in T&T and elsewhere where turtle species are in danger of extinction.
"Anything that we do, any method that we use that can save the lives of turtles and encourage population growth is always going to be a success story," Audroing said.
Atlantic is the sole sponsor of the National Sea Turtle Tagging and Monitoring Programme, an initiative of the Turtle Village Trust which gathers information about the population of nesting leatherbacks, hawksbill and green turtles in T&T, and about the resident population of hawksbill and green turtles foraging on the reefs and seagrass beds around Tobago.
The data gathered by the Turtle Village Trust and its partner turtle communities contribute to the overall management of sea turtles locally, regionally and globally.