Until I had the rare privilege of being lectured on turtles in Ghana and the threat they face, I didn't really care about this type of creature and how it fares on our coastline. Thankfully though, I now know a little bit about these intriguing creatures, thanks to Richard Agyei of the Ghana Wildlife Society (GWS).
This small knowledge alone has made me realize how much we are missing as a nation and a people, because we are so ignorant of the gains that can be roped in with these creatures. How true it is that where purpose is not known abuse is inevitable. And so it happens that the bulk of Ghanaians, who are in the dark as to the prevalence of these creatures along almost (80%) our entire coastline of 550km could care less about them.
On the other hand the few who are privy to their existence have abused these harmless and defenseless creatures wantonly either for meat or paltry monetary gains. These reptiles are so defenceless that they become easy prey just by mustering some strength to tip them over with their belly to the sky. I say paltry because the gains could be much much more if proper structures are put in place in terms of conservation. For those who know nothing about this creature, Ghana has marine turtles, which only come out at night. I am told that nocturnal outings of these creatures have been necessitated by human activities during the day so as not to be disturbed during nesting. It is an established fact that they are scared away by human activity when nesting, especially when any light is focused on them.
Infact it has been found out that these turtles have become so wary of the dangers posed to them by humans that they virtually scale the coastline for any presence before venturing unto the beaches. They are reptiles just like crocodiles, lizards etc. and breath through their lungs.
Though many confuse them with tortoise these two are different in many respects. Whereas tortoises spend most of their time on land and have solid limbs, marine turtles are most times in the sea, have flippers and are larger in size. Basically there are seven species of marine turtles, with six of them found only in tropical and sub tropical waters.
They are the Leatherback, which is the biggest and can be found as far as Alaska, Green turtle, Olive Ridley, Australian Flatback, Kemp's Ridley, which can be found only in America, Hawksbill and Loggerhead Turtles.
Sad to say that though Ghana had as many as five of the species, namely the Green Turtle, Olive Ridley, Leatherback, Hawksbill and Loggerhead Turtles, Ghana has long since lost two - Hawksbill and Loggerhead through so much abuse due to ignorance. Their extinction also came about because it was mostly the female turtles that were killed, as they are the only ones that come to shore, basically to nest.
Amazing facts about turtles:
It is amazing though, that although turtles are able to produce about 120 eggs (the size of Ping-Pong balls) at a go, these two types have become extinct. This has come about because many other factors have militated against their breeding along our coast, which we shall definitely visit before we are through with this feature. Turtles mature after about 20 years and live as long as 120 years. At 25 the turtles go back to the beach where they were hatched to lay eggs - you could call it a form of homecoming for them. Interestingly these 25 year-old turtles lay as much as 7 clutches of eggs with each consisting of 120. The turtles however nest and feed on jellyfish and seaweed at different places.
Importance of Turtles:
I remember when I was in school I had to at one time answer a question on the economic importance of the mosquito in a biology exam. The first thing that came to mind was that there was really nothing important about the mosquito as it only brought about malaria. How wrong and short sighted I was, for failing to realize that the mosquitoes, small as they are, for the fact that they have been able to cause scientists to research into curative medicines and thus brought about employment, had become very important economically. Turtles too, though at a casual glance may not be seen as important, have the propensity to bring gains wherever they are found, if proper structures are put in place. These can far outweigh paltry economic gains.
Culture:
On the coastline of Ghana as much as 90% of the entire population of turtles, it is found out, nestle along the Prampram -Ada portion. The reason for this phenomenon is not far fetched: it is an established fact that the Ga Dangmes living in the area - Old Ningo especially, neither eat nor kill the turtles because they revere them and regard them as gods. Unfortunately though, that is not the same trend in the Western and Central Regions where the turtles are killed on a commercial basis.
Food and Income:
Though there is currently a legislation prohibiting killing of turtles because they are being killed too rampantly, if the turtles are allowed to breed well and killing them with careless abandon is ceased, it could provide a source of income and livelihood for the coastal folks and also used as meat.
Medicine:
The oil gained from the turtles especially the Leatherback, has been seen to possess medicinal qualities. Word has it that the Ningos use the oil to cure asthma, convulsion and skin rashes. It is also on record that Beninois use it to treat tetanus. Certainly if this medicinal property is tested and exploited there is no telling the magnitude of gains that could be realised.
Eco-tourism:
Turtles have a great Eco-tourism potential and can rope in much gain in the county's tourism industry if exploited to the fullest.
Improved fish yields
It has been shown that where there is a proliferation of turtles, fishermen are likely to make good catches as the turtles eat up jellyfish, which drive the fishes away.
Ghana's Marine Turtles going extinct (II)
Still talking turtles
Having realised the importance of turtles and the huge returns that Ghana stands to gain if these intriguing creatures are protected from complete annihilation, I believe it behooves on every Ghanaian to join in the crusade to defend them. This can however not be done adequately without knowing the dangers these reptiles face in our part of the world.
Kinds of threats they face
The threats turtles face on the coastline of Ghana are indeed varied and so numerous that they give much cause for concern. In fact with these threats to their existence prevailing, it is no wonder that their population is decreasing by day. Some of the dangers the turtles are exposed to are as follows.
1) They are killed for meat along some parts of our coastline. Some of the areas known to be notorious in this pastime are Anloga in the Volta Region, Ankaful and Senya Bereku in the Central Region as well as Dansoman and Bortiano in the Greater Accra Region.
The Green Turtle is the specie at the greatest risk as it is found to be the most palatable and highly valuable, whereas another specie - the Leatherback is said to be very nauseating. Investigations have proved that some of these turtles are sold at as high a price as ¢300,000, a major contributory factor to the Hawksbill and Loggerhead being extinct on our coast.
2) Another threatening factor to the existence of turtles along our coast is the fact that both humans, pigs and dogs compete in collecting and consuming eggs laid by these reptiles.
3) Predation on hatchlings by pigs, dogs and other animals is also a situation that seriously affects the breeding of turtles and thus endangers them. The Olive Ridley and Green Turtle are found to be more at risk, as they don't dig deep enough. On the other hand the Leatherback digs as deep as one metre and disturbs its nest to make it difficult of the predators to find its nest.
4) The wanton destruction of our beaches by developers and sand winners is also of grave concern to the turtles as it robs them of a place to nestle and also destroys their eggs and hatchlings.
5) Interestingly the proliferation of carrier bags (polythene bags) and their improper disposal has also become the bane of the turtles. As it looks like the jellyfish, which is their delicacy, these animals tend to eat it and thereby choke to death.
6) It has been found out too that turtles on the high seas also face threats from both large and small fishing trawlers. Fishermen on these vessels kill the turtles, which accidentally find their way into their nets as they maintain that they destroy their nets.
Solution to problem
To help alleviate the threat of extinction faced by the turtles along Ghana's coastline, the Ghana Wildlife Society (GWS), a non-governmental organisation championing the cause of wildlife in general intends setting up a hatchery from mid August to March next year (2002). This happens to be the egg-laying period for the turtles.
The society has however already taken up conservation of the turtles. Asked why people were not rather encouraged to go into turtle farming as it is done with poultry, pigs, sheep and other animals, Mr. Richard Adjei of the GWS opined that people would not find that option attractive as the turtles take a very long time to mature (25 years).
He thus saw it as not viable commercially although he disclosed that somewhere off the Brazilian coast turtles are being kept commercially.
Education
Mr. Adjei however sees education of indigenes along the coast as a very worthy option. He is of the view that as people are aware that the population of these turtles has reduced along our beaches, education, which would seek to explain the cause of this phenomenon, would be the best option. Another reason why he opts for education is that most inhabitants of Old Ningo and Kpongunor, where these turtles can be found in their numbers, he maintains, are oblivious that their culture does not permit these animals to be killed.
The GWS personnel believes that if culture is very well engrafted into the communities, those places would become sanctuaries for the turtles, just as the people of Buabeng Fiaman in the Brong Ahafo Region have been able to do with the monkeys. It is envisaged that if this were done successfully eco-tourism would be largely enhanced.
In fact Mr. Adjei intimated that just a few days ago he took 30 tourists to the beach to watch turtles, an indication that prospects are bright for eco-tourism. Whilst emphasising that education is also important because many do not know about the Wildlife Regulations Act of 1974 which lists marine turtles as an endangered specie which must not be killed, the GWS revealed that it had already begun some education through its societies in schools along the coast of the country.
Funding
"Marine turtle conservation does not have funding, all that we get comes from dues of the members of GWS, some individuals and organisations", revealed Mr. Adjei.
Where do the Ministry of tourism and Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) come in?
According to the GWS the tourism ministry can only be contacted on their plight after a proposal has been prepared. Also, though threats faced by the turtles could be handled by the EPA, a study of the areas need to be conducted and results submitted to the agency.
Fishing gear that claims to spare rare sea turtles has prompted federal officials to consider ending the ban on long-line fishing off the coast of California. Some environmentalists are hailing the change; others say there's no proof it will work.
Sea Turtles have survived on our planet for more than 150 million years. However, they now require only but a nudge to be propelled forever into oblivion. Due to the increase in human pressures around the world, extinction is a serious possibility for most sea turtle populations. There are comparatively few sea turtles surviving the 25 - 60 years it takes to reach their nesting age.
If you look back over human history, the biggest threats to turtles used to be that people killed them to eat their meat and to take their shells - Hawksbills especially which are the main species found here in the inner Seychelles. People made jewellery out of the scales on their shell and they also collected the eggs. These are all still problems over many parts of the world because turtles are a good source of food and when you have places where people are poor, you can't blame them for wanting to kill turtles to eat. Unfortunately, if they kill too many, they are not going to have that food source and the world is not going to have turtles.
Turtle populations all around the world have declined drastically really, because of this kind of over harvest. Unfortunately, we now have new problems including destruction of habitat. Most sea turtles nest on beautiful beaches that people also like. Throughout the world where ever turtles occur you also get human development of coastline. In places like the U.S. such as the Florida coastline, there are a lot of turtles nesting there while more and more people are developing that coastline. Usually when people develop the coastline it becomes unsuitable for turtles.
Another problem faced by turtles is pollution, when people dump things into the sea it can destroy their habitat. Chemicals like oil, poison turtles, while they are also attracted to small floating objects like plastic. Turtles eat bits of plastic, many turtles wash ashore dead with their stomachs full of plastic. What happens is that the gut is full and the plastic doesn't pass through the turtle. It stays in the stomach and the turtle starves to death because their stomach is full but they are not getting any nutrition. Another big problem for turtles all over the world is accidental capture in fishing gear. This is not only a problem for turtles, it's a problem for birds, it's a problem for whales and it's a problem for all kinds of fish species that people don't even want to catch. Turtles are disappearing in many places because of this. The populations of Leatherback turtles which are wonderfully exciting turtles have declined by more than 95% in the Pacific Ocean. This is attributable to capture in driftnets, capture on squid lines and capture on longlines.
From the perspective of a turtle biologist, I say " isn't this terrible that the turtles are disappearing?" . But really there is a broader view and turtles are only one tiny component of an entire system. It's a symptom of what else is going on. It's the tip of the iceberg. These kinds of very destructive fishing techniques are just destroying the ecosystems of the ocean; it's horrifying when you realize what is going on. We need to look at turtles as an indicator of what is happening in the oceans and on land too - turtles are interesting because they cross over between land and sea.
The future of turtles depends on which populations of turtles we are talking about. I worked in Malaysia for several years and one species that we had there was the Leatherback turtles, which are now virtually extinct in Malaysia. There used to be 2,000 females nesting every year in the 1960's, when I was there in the late 80's there were down to 40 and I understand now that they are down to virtually nothing. Some populations are going extinct, some populations will go extinct, some have gone extinct, but I think in other areas where people do have an awareness and where governments are willing to take the necessary steps to protect their resources. It is optimistic.
Here in Seychelles we still have a lot of problems but also some bright points. For example on Aldabra - Aldabra has been protected since1968 as a special reserve, and it has been a world heritage sight for nearly twenty years now. The Green turtle population on Aldabra has been increasing and it has been increasing significantly due to the protection it has received on Aldabra itself. But prior to the 1960's, turtles on Aldabra were being killed for there meat and the population had declined from an estimated 6,000 - 8,000 animals nesting each year to less than 1,000. However, over the last twenty years the numbers have actually been increasing. It really all depends on what people are willing to do.
What I would say to the general public is, obviously, don't eat turtle meat, don't eat turtle eggs and don't buy products made out of turtle. The shell trade is still a big problem for Hawksbill turtles. Although it is illegal now for any international trade to be going on in Hawksbill shell, there still is illegal trade going on. I would recommend if you are ever offered the opportunity to buy something made out of turtle shell, don't. Also I think we just need to be more aware about how we deal with our habitats. Support efforts that encourage non-destructive fishing techniques, for example dolphin-friendly tuna, turtle friendly shrimp, these are industries you should support. When there is evidence that something is destructive, make the sacrifice of not using it. Also be aware of developing or buying land along pristine coastlines that may be destroyed once the area becomes built up.
One reason why turtles make such an excellent indicator species and also an excellent 'flagship' species for conservation, meaning they can be used as a way to attract peoples attention, is that they nest on the shore so they are partly terrestrial so if you are going to protect turtles you have to protect beaches. You also have turtles living in mangrove areas, you have turtles living on seagrass pastures, you have turtles living on coral reefs, you have turtles living on mudflats, you have Leatherbacks feeding in really deep oceans and travelling throughout the oceans, going near the Arctic and the Antarctic and also in the tropical areas. You have young turtles living in the oceanic gyres at the surface of the sea, so almost everywhere there is sea, there are turtles. In order to protect turtles, we have to protect everything if we are going to protect all turtles.