Easter Ocean: Spring Reflections on Sea Turtles

A few shiny coins, a piece of quartz and a dish of cereal were carefully placed inside the box trap.  A tiny ladder was provided for ingress.  She was thoughtful enough to provide a small bed, a chair and a toilet for the soon to be captive, green ‘Chaun.  She planned to let her go after a while, but luck wasn’t with her this year. 

No Leprechauns.

At Christmas, we set out cookies for Santa Claus.  Not as a trap, rather a treat.  A small, sweet thank you for the old guy who braved our long chimney to bring gifts and cheer.

In the morning the cookies were gone, the stockings were stuffed and ashes from the fireplace scattered.

Now I’m wondering if it will be necessary to set out a trap or a treat for the Easter Bunny?

Perhaps we can recycle the Leprechaun trap?  Maybe a few carrots at the back door…

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Today I read an article in Coastal Living Magazine where the CEO of Oceana, Andy Sharpless, described bottom trawling as akin to bulldozing the forest to catch bunnies.

Most of our wild-caught shrimp are caught this way.  Nets can be mostly full of non-shrimp animals.  We call those animals ‘bycatch’ and they are usually shoveled over the side of the trawler, sink to the bottom and become food for crabs and bacteria.

This all ends up being a very big problem because shrimp is the number one seafood in the U.S.  Farming shrimp isn’t much better with its coast wrecking ponds and pollution.

But there is a better way.  The best shrimp traps are more like Grayce’s baited Leprechaun box than the bulldozer-like trawls. 

A number of shrimpers are going sustainable by using pots to catch wild shrimp or closed system, organic farms to grow them in ponds.  Plus these shrimpers are closer to home which means less oil is burned to bring the product to your plate.

These technologies may spell good news for sea turtles, the ocean floor and the world’s coastal mangroves and wetlands.  The trick is we all need to buy only eco-shrimp and shun the other kind.

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The result is that thousands of turtles and turtle eggs perish during the days called Semana Santa or Holy Week when the demand for seafood throughout Latin America peaks.

Since 2002 we have petitioned the Vatican, lobbied the Pope (Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict) and appealed to local priests and parishioners to give turtles a break.  Our argument has been based less on phylogenetic clarification than conservation urgency, as turtle eating during Lent is a big contributor to the endangered status of sea turtles worldwide.

We’ve received formal letters indicating that our petitions have been registered.

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The first SEE Turtles expeditions are leaving cash in the hands of former turtle poachers by paying coastal residents as guides to see the eggs, hatchlings and nesting turtles in the wild.  Tourists are replacing fishing nets and longlines in the pangas of fishermen.

Still, we’ll keep up our campaign to enlist the Vatican in our crusade to save the sea turtles.  And while we wait for divine intervention, consider our Easter Ocean and please eat only sustainable trap-caught shrimp and book your SEE Turtles expedition. 

It’s good for the ocean and good for sea turtles.  Happy Easter, Easter bunny.