Turtle Conservation Plan Public Consultation Survey


Especially if you Disagree or Strongly Disagree with a provision of the Plan, please indicate your reasons so that we are able to properly understand and take account of your input to improve the plan. Your comments are valued in all cases.
1.Name(Required.)
2.Are you commenting as a private citizen or on behalf of an organisation?(Required.)
3.Do you live in the Cayman Islands? (Required.)
4.Where do you reside?(Required.)
5.Are you eligible to vote in the Cayman Islands (your feedback is valued regardless of the answer to this question)(Required.)
6.Is your property in sea turtle nesting habitat, as defined in the Plan (http://doe.ky/natl-conservation-council/proposed-species-conservation-plans/).(Required.)
7.If yes, Block and Parcel: (this is private information and will not be published)
8.Is your property in or adjacent to sea turtle critical habitat, as defined in the Plan (http://doe.ky/natl-conservation-council/proposed-species-conservation-plans/)?(Required.)
9.If yes, Block and Parcel: (this is private information and will not be published).
10.Have you ever held a license to fish for turtles in the Cayman Islands?(Required.)
11.Have you read the Plan?(Required.)
12.How important is protecting Cayman Islands wild sea turtle nesting populations from extinction?(Required.)
Reduction of Poaching and Disturbance
13.To allow officers to tell the difference between legal (farmed) turtle meat and illegal (poached) turtle meat, the Plan proposes that turtle meat from Cayman Turtle Centre be sold in marked, freezer-safe bags with tamper-evident seals. It also proposes that people must store their turtle meat in these bags until the bags are opened for the meat to be cooked (Section 6 c. of Plan). What is your opinion?(Required.)
14.The Plan proposes to maintain existing provisions for licensing limited legal fishing of juvenile turtles, only by traditional turtle fishers who were licensed under the old Marine Conservation Law. Generally speaking, do you think Licenses should be granted for legal fishing of wild turtles?(Required.)
15.If you agree traditional turtle fishing licenses should be continued, what is your opinion on the restrictions on  eligibility, size limit, and season as laid out in the plan?(Required.)
16.The Plan proposes guidelines for turtle interactions, including prohibiting digging in turtle nests and requiring people to keep at least 30ft away from nesting turtles, and at least 50ft from mating turtles to avoid disrupting these activities. What is your opinion?(Required.)
Protection of Turtles from Artificial Lighting
17.Lights that shine onto nesting beaches lead baby turtles away from the ocean, where they are often injured or killed. This very serious threat can be minimized using amber-colored turtle friendly lighting. The Plan proposes that all existing developments on or impacting critical habitat replace their lighting with turtle friendly lighting within 3 years of the Plan coming into force (Section 6 d. of Plan). What is your opinion?(Required.)
18.The Plan proposes that all new construction on or impacting sea turtle critical habitat have turtle friendly lighting from the time that the Plan comes into force. What is your opinion?(Required.)
Other Protections for Nesting Beaches
19.Vehicles and heavy equipment on beaches can crush or accidentally excavate turtle nests. The Plan proposes that vehicles and heavy equipment should not drive or operate on nesting beaches without permission, except for certain exemptions i.e. for emergency vehicles (Section 6 e. of the Plan). What is your opinion?(Required.)
20.Anyone who wishes to have a bonfire is currently required to obtain a permit from the Department of Environmental Health (DEH). Because bonfires can destroy turtle eggs and kill turtle hatchlings, this Plan proposes that DEH consult with the Department of Environment (DoE) to ensure that there are no turtle nests in the area of a proposed beach bonfire. This formalises an existing process between DEH and DoE and will confer no additional obligations on the public. Do you have any comments on this provision?
Guidelines for Turtle Releases
21.The plan proposes that all eggs, hatchlings, or turtles released into the wild must comply with terms and conditions set out in a permit issued by the National Conservation Council. This provision would apply to turtles released from Cayman Turtle Centre and can be a “blanket permit” applying to all activities/releases over a period of time. This is the same rule as for other species releases in the Cayman Islands, with the primary goal being to prevent the transmission of disease between captive and wild populations. This provision will confer no additional obligation on the public. Do you have any comments on this provision?
Additional Measures and Comments
22.Do you have any comments about any other proposed provisions or restrictions in the Plan?
23.Are there any other conservation issues that you believe the Plan should address?
24.Please let us know in your own words any additional thoughts, opinions or suggestions you may have about this Plan.
25.Email address (for verification. This is private information and will not be published).(Required.)
Current Progress,
0 of 25 answered