Independent Newspapers, Cape Town SA
May 10 2000

Baby turtles abducted in fishing protest - Sapa-DPA

Quito - Fishermen in the Galapagos Islands have kidnapped 300 baby Holoturia sea turtles in an attempt to force officials to allow them to hunt the adult Holoturias for a two-month period each year, authorities said on Tuesday in Ecuador.

The Holoturias are a species that was once threatened with extinction in the Galapagos. Until now, the ban on hunting them has been suspended for about a month each year. But there are no plans thus far to suspend the ban at all this year. Ecuador's tourism board is responsible for establishing the hunting season on the turtles, but the Charles Darwin Foundation has warned that they are still in danger of extinction. Officials on the islands criticise the fishermens' action as vandalism that threatens the survival of the young turtles.

Last year, 4.2 million turtles were killed in the Galapagos by permission of the authorities and sold for $3.5-million. Turtle meat is an increasingly popular - and therefore expensive - delicacy, particularly in Asian countries. The Darwin Foundation argues that the hunting season should not be extended because killing the same number of turtles this year would bring in $9-million.