Rare turtle slaughtered

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=...=23&sp=true

looking at this video is a little disturbing. I think the irony that struck me as I watched this is the turtle survived every war for the last 200 years (thing has to be close to that old as large as it is) only to be slaughtered for the mythical beliefs of a people. The other irony that struck me here is touching the bloood of and eating a turtle is totally against the guidelines for food put forth in the Quran.

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=...=23&sp=true

 

looking at this video is a little disturbing. I think the irony that struck me as I watched this is the turtle survived every war for the last 200 years (thing has to be close to that old as large as it is) only to be slaughtered for the mythical beliefs of a people. The other irony that struck me here is touching the bloood of and eating a turtle is totally against the guidelines for food put forth in the Quran.

It is sad to see that turtle being caught alive and than beheaded, but it is indeed remarkable to see that there are still leatherbacks of that age swimming in the Mediterranean. Maybe they swim trough the Suez channel.

We just had the release of Fitna in the Netherlands about (mis)interpretations of the Qu'ran by some people. Anyway, this one is more funny.

Unfortunately the days of the Leatherbacks are counting. According to the (older) article below they have about 25 years left, after having lived for about 100 million years on this planet.

It is not only the fishermen/longlines that are a big threat, also loss of nesting ground is a big problem (like in Tamarindo - Costa Rica, where they are building tons of hotels).

Monday, 17 February, 2003, 23:14 GMT

Leatherbacks 'extinct in 30 years'

By Richard Black

BBC science correspondent in Denver

Leatherback turtles, the largest turtles in the world, will be extinct within a few decades if current fishing practices continue.

That is the conclusion of marine researchers speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver.

"We've done specific analysis on beaches where we've got a lot of data and we expect them to disappear in 10 to 30 years," said Larry Crowder, from Duke University, North Carolina.

Scientists say only new international fishing agreements can save the animal.

Accidental death

Leatherbacks are spectacular creatures - two to three metres long, covered in a leathery shell, and able to dive almost a kilometre below the ocean's surface in search of food.

It outlived the dinosaurs; at the moment it is having trouble outliving us

Professor Larry Crowder

Poaching of their eggs has driven numbers down but it is the fishing for tuna and swordfish which represent the biggest threat.

"These animals have declined more than 90% in the last 20 years, and one of the major factors we think is critically important now is bycatch - unintended catch - in long line fisheries," Professor Crowder told the BBC.

Some boats trail lines up to 60 kilometres in length, each carrying thousands of hooks.

Professor Crowder has calculated that globally, each day, there are around four million hooks in the world's oceans fishing for tuna and swordfish.

Turtles will eat the bait and get caught on the hooks, or simply get entangled in the lines.

Because the range of leatherbacks is so great, national legislation on long lines will not be sufficient to save the animals.

"If you tag one with a satellite tag in Monterey bay, it will shoot straight across to Indonesia," Professor Crowder explained.

"They are the most widely distributed sea turtle. They swim from 50 degrees south to 50 degrees north. Trying to regulate their interactions with fisheries out in international waters is really difficult."

Professor Crowder told delegates that there was much that could be done to minimise the impact of long line fishing, such as changing the shape of hooks.

"This organism has been around for 100 million years. It outlived the dinosaurs; at the moment it is having trouble outliving us."

Gary, that is just so sad on so many levels I could just cry. The Earth has lost so much already. We have to educate people on the demand side of the environmental equation.