Turtle Village Trust executive director Dr Allan Bachan says turtle watching has the potential to attract a larger international audience and surpass Carnival as a revenue earner.He was speaking at the launch of the turtle season 2013 at the Valencia Visitor Centre last week.
A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, the Turtle Village Trust and long-serving corporate sponsor, Atlantic, after which Minister Ganga Singh said more than $29 million will be disbursed to various turtle conservation bodies over the next four years."As developers, politicians and community leaders we should start to see marine turtles as a valuable asset, generating economic value and jobs," Bachan said.
"If managed properly, turtle tourism has the potential to surpass Carnival in socio-economic value.The value of sea turtles at Grande Riviere can be seen by the investment in accommodations in this community."He said the farming community, hotels and guest houses also benefited from turtle watching.
Bachan said the total average revenue for the season for guest houses, hotels, shops, food establishments, bars and agro-tourism was $53 million annually. He said the economic value of a sea turtle can be valued at approximately $26,000.Atlantic CEO Nigel Darlow said sea turtles had contributed to the growth and development of ecotourism in T&T. He said it was a fact that if there were no sea turtles, the local marine ecosystem would eventually collapse.
Darlow said this disaster was averted due to the community, stakeholders and companies like Atlantic. He said the turtle population, especially leatherback turtles, was now stabilised because of their collective effort. Minister of Science and Technology and Member of Parliament for Toco/Sangre Grande DrRupert Griffith said an estimated 10,000 leatherback turtles now nested in Trinidad compared to 500 in 1987, placing the population as the largest in the western hemisphere and perhaps the world.
He said this has resulted in the north-eastern district of Trinidad attracting a large number of visitors both local and foreign annually to witness the nesting spectacle.Griffith said this interest has translated into increased socio-economic development for the region.Also present was Turtle Village Trust chairman Natasha Ashby.