Turtles
12 September 2007 | Clifton
Randy
One thing I have discovered in my brief travels to the third world is that folks living on small islands with no real agriculture or farming capabilities eat everything around them. There is almost no fish, crustacean, invertebrate, reptile, amphibian or mammal, which they can catch, that they don't eat. From the stand point of the developed world, many endangered, threatened or politically incorrect species are harvested. You can't argue with subsistence, however.
Whaling is still in fashion here and folks go whaling in traditional open boats. Fortunately for the whales they are not as successful as the modern whaling fleets of the world. They must row in open boats! That said they do kill a few most years and there is a glory about it that seems to obscure the conservation issues.
Smooth Trunkfish, from the Box Fish family, are considered some of the best eating fish in this area. Most folks think of these guys as decorative reef fish. Parrot Fish, Squirrel Fish and Big Eyes also end up on the table often. In fact just about anything that ends up in the seine net or on a line will get pan fried in most places.
Some of the more endangered species are protected in various ways, usually through specific hunting seasons and size restrictions. Two of the area staples, Conch and Spiny Lobster, are harder and harder to find. Commercial conch farming seems to be making some progress but I have not heard of any lobster farms.
The human population continues to grow but it doesn't seem like the sea is keeping up. Not only are the numbers in the Caribbean increasing, but they are also supporting the fishing needs of countries that have nearly fished out their own waters. Large public works projects can be found throughout the islands with commemorative plaques thanking the Chinese and Japanese governments in particular.
As I walked down the road to clear out today I saw a group of local guys wheeling a cart toward me. I said hello and they asked if I wanted to buy something. I didn't understand what they had said but as I looked down at the cart I realized that I was looking at the bloody insides of a 3 foot diameter Green Sea Turtle Shell. They had bagged up most of the meat in zip locks and were inquiring as to whether I wanted to buy some. I politely declined.