Sea Turtles finding refuge in Barbuda

Antigua & Barbuda’s beaches and turquoise waters are famous the world over. The islands’ crystalline waters are also home to some of the world’s most iconic marine creatures sea turtles. Sadly, over the past years, the numbers of many different species of this marine reptile have been in serious decline. For instance, according to the World Wildlife Federation, the global population of hawksbill turtles has declined by over 80 percent over the last century - hunted for their shells, eggs and meat, and further threatened through habitat destruction such as beach loss.

The Barbuda Sea Turtle Program is a unique initiative that seeks to monitor and recover Barbuda’s sea turtles at the same time as supporting sustainable economic development on the island. Created at the impetus of investor and philanthropist John Paul DeJoria and Dr Deborah Brosnan and supported by the Barbuda Ocean Club and its members, the Barbuda initiative is a locally run project that is now entering its fourth year and has been regionally recognised. Although Barbuda’s idyllic beaches have long been renowned for sea turtle nesting, they were not regularly monitored for this nesting activity, nor was their population’s health assessed. During the planning for the Barbuda Ocean Club (BOC) – a private residential resort communityscientists expressed concern that turtles and their habitats be protected and restored. The investors were in agreement. Consequently, as part of its environmental management and monitoring plan, the Barbuda Ocean Club committed to conducting sustainable coastal development, which included protecting these endangered creatures.

The Barbuda Sea Turtle Program is a unique initiative that seeks to monitor and recover Barbuda’s sea turtles at the time as supporting sustainable economic development on the island.

The programme began when local Antiguan, Jepson Prince, who started some of the early sea turtle monitoring in Antigua, met Deborah Brosnan and agreed to help train the first cohort of Barbudan monitors. Dr Karen Eckert of WIDECAST provided guidance to the fledgling effort, and it all rapidly evolved from there. Scientists started working and training a local team on Barbuda, adding innovative new techniques like GPS nest monitoring and GIS nest mapping. The goal of the Barbuda Sea Turtle Monitoring Program has been to recover these iconic species and create a sea-turtlesafe development programme by implementing long-term monitoring, which is embedded in the local community.

Turtles typically nest between March and November, during which time females emerge from the ocean onto the beach, usually at night. They then crawl up the beach looking for the ideal nesting location - this is often close to dune vegetation which serves as an indicator that they have found a good nesting spot. Because of this, the sea turtle programme is closely aligned with one aiming to restore dunes. Rebuilt dunes that are replanted with native vegetation provide a nesting habitat for sea turtles. And these marine creatures seem to notice. Last year, even as one dune was being restored, a hawksbill turtle came and nested on the newly created dune slope.

Although three species of turtle visit the twin islands’ shores, the hawksbill is the most common species to be found nesting on the monitored beaches in Barbuda. Hawksbill females excavate a nest and lay about 120 eggsan event that can take many hours. About 60 days later, the tiny young hatchlings emerge and head immediately to the ocean to begin their epic life journey with challenges facing them at every turn. Temperature determines their gender. At higher temperatures, typically at or above 88.8º F (31º C), eggs develop into females, at lower temperatures, they become males.

Since its initial inception in 2018, the programme has grown in its scientific efforts and engagement of local personnel, with over ten members of the local community involved and employed. It is now in its fourth full year, and beaches are monitored three to four nights per week, yearround.

Although three species of turtle visit the twin islands’ shores, the hawksbill is the most common species to be found nesting on the monitored beaches in Barbuda.

The local team collects data on leatherback, hawksbill, and green sea turtles’ nesting activities and hatchlings by geolocating and mapping the data and tagging nesting females to track their movements.

The development of this initiative has included the engagement of a dedicated local sea turtle monitoring team trained in standardised scientific monitoring methods. The team leader, local Barbudan expert, Ms Rishma Mansingh, has been a key member of the team since its inception and has provided refresher training over the years for team members as well as training interns and new team members. She has attended scientific conferences to advance her knowledge of sea turtle monitoring and to learn from other similar projects in the Caribbean region. An important objective of the programme is to continually build the scientific capacity of the local team and within the local community. To date, it has provided scientific skills and training to ten individuals, with a focus on advancing STEM opportunities for women.

Testimony to the strength of the programme and the commitment of the team, in October this year, the first Barbuda Regional Sea Turtle Symposium was held with the support of BOC. This symposium brought together attendees and presenters from projects around the region, such as those from St Kitts & Nevis, Anguilla, Montserrat, and the French West Indies.

The Barbuda Team identified their key findings over the past four years, outlining notable trends for each species and incorporating the data results into best management practices for turtle-friendly and sustainable coastal development. Participants from across the region presented their data and observations and discussed the use of emerging technologies for data collection and monitoring. The symposium provided the opportunity for new collaborations and partnerships, creating a new community that will allow for regional coordination to advance sea turtle research and best management practices. Sea turtle trends and behaviours are a proxy for changes in their habitats and the environment.

By sharing data from throughout the region, collectively, this network will begin to detect acute and chronic disturbances to the populations and promptly identify conservation solutions. Satellite tagging will also provide the opportunity for community engagement and outreach through live tracking of the creatures as they move throughout the region. The Barbuda Sea Turtle Monitoring Team will incorporate these data collection techniques into their monitoring for the upcoming season.

The symposium will be held annually to continue to promote cross-programme data sharing, communication, and coordination. So, what’s the next step for the Barbuda team? Satellite tagging will take place in 2023 so that they can track the movements of these magnificent creatures as they wander the oceans and between the islands.