One Turtle Saved From the Cooking Pan
by Saskia Renshoff

I was right on my way to the marina to go to Klein Bonaire, when my mobile phone started to ring. It was Catriona Glenndinning (manager BMP), who told me a green turtle was found in a fisherman boat at Lac Cai. I needed very little time to decide that Klein Bonaire could wait for one day and rushed myself to the scene at Cai. I had no idea what to expect, so in full speed the turtle truck moved, on the bumpy road, to Cai. When I arrived at Cai I saw some cares and people but no turtle. I approached Catriona, Sixto and Dean and there it was: a young green turtle carefully placed in the shadow of a truck. It was still alive! I was very happy to see that. Usually we find remnants of turtles (e.g. shell, bones, shell plates) as evidence of another slaughtered turtle. For example, about three weeks ago a shell of an adult hawksbill turtle was brought to us. Events like this always upset me. I realize that catching sea turtles is a local tradition on Bonaire. It has been done for generations, so why stop doing it now? Just consider the fact that it took this female years and years to grow to adult size. She faced horrifying threats as a little hatchling. She was the one out of her 1000 brothers and sisters who survived till maturity. She might have been migrating long distances to possibly nest on Bonaire. She most likely ended up in the hands of a fisherman and that was the end of her impressive struggle for live. Luckily fate decided that this immature green turtle had to given a second chance. When I examined the green, it turned it had a 61 cm. shell length and it suffered from turtle cancer. It had tumors on one eye, flippers and neck. Another threat this youngster has to deal with. Let's hope it's able to recover from this terrible decease. After taking numerous pictures we decided to give the turtle it's well deserved freedom back. It appeared to be weak, but as soon as it was in it's natural environment, it quickly swam away. I had mixed feelings. I was very happy that it all went so well this morning.
Thanks to the rapid actions of STCB, BMP and Police ambiental, one turtle was saved. But I wondered how many turtles are still slaughtered on Bonaire? How much more can a turtle population deal with? How long is this green able to swim and feed in freedom? Let's hope that a future will exist into which sea turtles and people can live in harmony.