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TCI Turtles Fitted with Satellite Transmitters on the Move!

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ATI (2 of 5)

ATI (3 of 5)Providenciales, 14 May 2015 – Two more teenage green turtles have been captured and fitted with hi-tech satellite transmitters, then released on the Caicos Banks as part of ongoing research by the Turks and Caicos Islands Turtle Project (TCITP) to find out about the movements of these spectacular animals. At the beginning of the month TCITP staff from the UK’s Marine Conservation Society, the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA) and the Amanyara Resort worked with South Caicos fishermen to catch the turtles and attach the transmitters.

While one of the turtles, named Sea Biscuit, has remained close to Ocean Hole where they were released 10 days ago, the other turtle, Yara, started heading west yesterday, possibly on a ‘developmental migration’, a rarely recorded and poorly understood behavior that the project hopes to track.

“Little is known about the habits and movements of sub-adult, or teenage, turtles. Unlike nesting adult female turtles, these teenagers spend all their time at sea and so are less accessible and much harder to study,” said Dr Peter Richardson of the Marine Conservation Society, “We can track these turtles in TCI because we work with South Caicos fishermen who are experts at catching them, and so far in this research we recorded TCI teenage turtle developmental migrations to Colombia, Cuba and North Carolina in the USA.”

So far the TCITP has tracked 19 turtles, including 13 teenage green turtles, four adult hawksbills and 2 adult green turtles, one of which was Suzie. Suzie was the first turtle to be tracked in TCI and in 2009 migrated over 3,700 miles through the territories of 15 different countries before returning to TCI in January 2010.

“The recent movements of Yara are very exciting, this turtle could be migrating away from TCI and if so, we really don’t know where she is going, so we’ll be experiencing new scientific discovery before our very eyes,” said Dr Richardson, “We are so very grateful to the support of the Amanyara Turtle Initiative and Amanyara guests Stephen Meringoff and Kim Charlton for generously supporting this exciting research – and thanks to them anyone can track the journeys of these amazing animals by going to the Marine Conservation Society’s website where there are dedicated TCI turtle tracking pages.”

Green turtles are listed as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and are considered a culturally important marine resource in the Turks and Caicos Islands. They have been fished and enjoyed for centuries in the TCI, and, in more recent decades, have also been a highlight for many divers and snorkelers holidaying in the islands. The tracking study hopes to understand which feeding areas are important to these large green turtles in TCI waters, whether or not these areas need protection, and which other countries share green turtle populations with the TCI

The TCITP is a collaborative initiative involving DEMA, local fishermen, the UK’s Marine Conservation Society and University of Exeter, Duke University in the USA, the School for Field Studies in South Caicos and the Amanyara Resort in Providenciales. The Project has been carrying out biological research, social research and extensive stakeholder engagement with fishing communities in the TCI since 2008, primarily through former Project Officer Amdeep Sanghera.

The TCITP’s recommendations, which were produced through consultation with fishermen, to amend and improve the legislation that regulates the TCI’s traditional turtle fishery were approved by TCI Government last year and came into force in July. The new regulations introduced new size limits, including 18 inch minimum shell length and 24 inch maximum shell length size limits for green and hawksbill turtles. These new limits protect small turtles, as well as large teenage and breeding adult turtles in TCI, but still allow fishers to access juvenile turtles of a good eating size. An eight-month closed season for hawksbills was also introduced during the lobster open season, which gives hawksbill turtles additional protection during their peak breeding season.

The new turtle fishery regulations, including the new size limits, have been printed on T-shirts bearing a turtle image and the slogan “Size Matters in the Turks and Caicos Islands” and are currently being distributed by DEMA to promote the new laws.

Sea Biscuit and Yara are larger than 24 inch shell length and so are now protected under TCI fishery laws. The tracking study hopes to discover where these teenage turtles go and understand whether or not they are protected in the other countries they visit.

DEMA respectfully requests anyone encountering a turtle fitted with a satellite transmitter in TCI waters to please leave it well alone and report it to DEMA officers. People are encouraged to track the turtles online by logging into www.mcsuk.org/conservation_in_action/Marine+turtles/Tracking+turtles

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RTCIPF Observes World Down Syndrome Day

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On March 21st, 2024, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force joined the international, regional and local communities in observing World Down Syndrome Day. 

Officers showed their support by wearing brightly coloured and mismatched socks to raise awareness. 

The head of the Safeguarding and Public Protection Unit, Assistant Superintendent of Police Grantley Williams, Training Manager Mrs Odessa Forbes and Media Relations Officer Denyse Renne visited the SNAP Centre and interacted with the students.

In a message to the TCI community, the RTCIPF noted that stereotypes perpetuate stigma and hinder inclusion, preventing individuals from reaching their full potential. 

Instead, the RTCIPF calls for individuals to foster an environment of acceptance and support where everyone is valued for who they are. 

By breaking down barriers and challenging misconceptions, we can create a more inclusive society where individuals with Down Syndrome are empowered to live fulfilling lives and contribute meaningfully to their communities and, by extension, the TCI. 

As law enforcement officers, we must protect and serve all members of society, regardless of their abilities. 

Let’s work together to ensure that individuals with Down Syndrome are treated with dignity and respect and that their rights are upheld.

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CARICOM speaks out on Climate Change, looking to May meeting to amplify call for Climate Funding

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March 3, 2024

 

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) remains on the frontlines of global climate crisis, an issue the Region has been aggressively advocating on for the past thirty years. Despite the many commitments and promises of international partners, the window of opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is rapidly closing.

Heads of Government are concerned that while COP 28 was widely regarded as a historic event, with the completion of the first global stocktake (GST), on progress in achievement of the Paris Agreement goals, the outcomes of GST show that emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise and the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of Parties will not keep global temperatures below the 1.5 degree goal enshrined in the Paris Agreement.

Heads of Government also expressed concern to be heading to COP 29 where a New Finance Goal will be articulated to replace the 100bn goal, which has not yet been met, even as developing countries require trillions to deal with the escalating impacts of climate change. Developed country parties have not provided enough finance at scale, technology and capacity building support required to help developing countries tackle their pressing needs to build their resilience, especially in adapting to the adverse and increasingly catastrophic impacts of climate change. The clear absence of definitive timelines for action and quantitative commitments for scaling up of investments, and particularly adaptation finance emerging out of COP 28, cause great concern to our Region.

The Conference noted that Small Island Developing States (SIDS), recognized as the most vulnerable group of countries and a special case for sustainable development, have been facing strong push back against the recognition of their special circumstances especially in the context of climate finance. There is limited international support for special allocations for SIDS within financing arrangements and available climate finance from international and private sources is limited, expensive and too onerous to access.

In light of the preceding, Heads of Government called for CARICOM to take a strategic, unified and coordinated approach to ensure that the Region remains influential in the climate and development arena through engagements with key partners and advocacy groups.

They called for renewed focus by the Region to advocate for inclusion of forests, nature-based solutions and blue carbon into market mechanisms with the aim of articulating clear regional positions and strategies.

Heads of Government reiterated the call for improved readiness programmes, simplified approval procedures, a change to the criteria for determining access to low-cost finance, and for the adoption of programmatic approaches to address the bottlenecks in accessing finance.

The Region reiterates its support for the Bridgetown Initiative’s call to expand capital adequacy of international financial institutions.

Heads recognized that the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, scheduled to be held in Antigua and Barbuda, 27 – 30 May 2024, will be an inflection point for many of these discussions to be articulated. As such, the Region remains committed to participating in the Conference at the highest level.

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South Caicos Development Plans shared with Washington-Misick led Administration

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On Monday, 12 February 2024, the Premier led a delegation to tour the island of South Caicos to view the ongoing public and private sector projects, involving the remodelling and rebranding of the airport terminals, historical districts, and the East Bay Hotel.

The tour of the various developments reinforced the Government’s commitment to collaborating with stakeholders to boost the island’s activity and economy.

Photos courtesy of the TCI Office of the Premier

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