Butchered Turtle Found
by Jake Richter, Bonaire E-News Editor

Towards the end of the day this past Tuesday, February 23^rd, I was escorting several visitors on an approved dive at the Kralendijk Town Pier when I came across a few fish nibbling at something odd on the bottom. Upon closer inspection I discovered that the latest bit of Town Pier fish food was the freshly severed forward flipper of a turtle, mostly likely a small hawksbill turtle - it looked to have not been in the water for more than a few hours. Further search of the surrounding area uncovered the other three flippers along with part of a turtles breast plate and two large bone joints. I and my diving companions were horrified. For those not aware of it, Turtles are protected by international treaty, and on Bonaire in particular, harming a turtle is punishable is against the law and punishable by large fines (up to NAFl. 5,000).

The breast plate of the turtle had jagged marks and rectangular cuts, while the flippers were obviously severed from the torso (which we didn't find) with a sharp knife. In other words, this turtle did not die from natural causes or predators. It was the doing of a fellow human, sadly. From the position of the various turtle parts it is very likely that they were dumped into the water either from the pier or from a boat situated on the inside part of the pier where it parallels shore or on the pier itself.

In any event, we left the turtle parts where we found them, and upon exiting the water contacted the Bonaire Marine Park, where we were told that it would be best to have the turtle parts for evidence, along with a detailed report on where and when they were found. So, a couple hours later, now at night, found me wearing skin diving regalia, plunging back into the dark waters of the pier with mesh bag and flashlight in hand. I swam down to the bottom, and in two skin dives, had collected all the parts I previously found. I brought these to shore, where they were placed in a plastic bin filled with salt water. The parts were then photographed in their near original condition, a report was written and filed with the Marine Park, the Bonaire Sea Turtle Club, and the Police via FAX and e-mail, and the parts were then delivered to the Marine Park the following morning. As may be apparent, the head, shell, and meat of the turtle are still missing. It is my understanding that the matter of the butchered is now being formally investigated by the authorities.

If anyone reading this recalls seeing any suspicious activity on the inland side of the Town Pier during the day (most likely the afternoon) of Tuesday, February 23^rd, 1999, which might have involved a turtle, please report it at once to both the Bonaire Sea Turtle Club at mailto:imreaida@bonairelive.com  and to the Bonaire Marine Park at 8444 or mailto:marinepark@bmp.org , and they will communicate this information to the proper authorities.

While the slaughter of turtles for their meat and shell may once have been acceptable, the significant decrease in turtle populations in the last few decades requires that such endangered species be left unharmed if they are to have a chance to survive. (The Bonaire Sea Turtle Club's Web pages are located at http://www.bonairenet.com/turtle/indextur.htm )