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The people of the
Cayman Islands have a history tied to the turtle. In the 1600 and 1700's
the Cayman Islands became a provisioning stop for vessels sailing the
Caribbean because of an abundance of green sea turtles, which could be
caught and kept alive on board as a source of fresh meat. Permanent
settlements developed on the Cayman Islands in the seventeenth century
and turtling became a means of income as well as providing a local
source of food.
However, the
turtles around the islands were depleted by the early 1800's and the
turtling industry focused around the Miskito Cays off the coast of
Nicaragua. The Cayman turtling fleet continued operating at a sustained
level until the early 1900's. By this time turtle populations were
dwindling and, in subsequent years, national and international
regulations and alternative sources of income reduced the turtling
industry to a negligible level. The appearance of the turtle on the
Cayman Islands' flag, seal and currency reflects the close association
the people have to the turtle.
General Information
Cayman Turtle Farm
was established in 1968 as Mariculture Ltd. by a group of investors from
the United States and Great Britain as a facility to raise the green sea
turtle, Chelonia mydas, for commercial purposes. The intention was to
supply the market with a source of product that did not deplete the wild
populations further. By releasing turtles and facilitating research, any
harm created by removing turtles and eggs from the wild would be
mitigated.
After much work was
put into pioneering the requirements of domesticating this wild animal,
regulations designed to protect the sea turtle prevented the sale of
even the farmed turtle product in the U. S. and many other countries.
With close to 100,000 turtles to feed and care for and unable to sell
its products to continue a cash flow, Mariculture Ltd. consequently went
bankrupt in 1975. Mariculture Ltd. was bought by a group from Germany
and renamed Cayman Turtle Farm Ltd. Breeding Pond prior to Hurricane
Michelle in November 2001.
The new owners intended to operate the farm more as a non profit
organization, funnelling any profits from the sale of products back into
sea turtle conservation and protection projects, using the site as an
international sea turtle research facility. However, export restrictions
continued and sufficient revenue could not be generated to maintain the
approximately 100,000 turtles on hand. After 8 years the new company
gave up. The number of turtles was reduced and operating costs brought
to the minimum with the intention of closing.
The Cayman Islands
Government then purchased this mini farm in 1983 and has since operated
it as a private company, Cayman Turtle Farm (1983) Ltd. The goal of this
new company is to produce enough turtles to supply the needs of the
local market and continue releasing turtles. The farm has also become
the largest land based attraction on the island.
On 4th November
2001 the Farm was hit by the waves generated by Hurricane Michelle
churning 90 miles away off to the South West of Grand Cayman. Although
there was little wind, the waves inundated most of the facility near the
sea, washing 600 lbs turtles out of their tanks as easily as it washed
the 6 ounces hatchlings. Turtles were washing everywhere. People came
from all around the Island as the news of the disaster spread, to help
in the rescue. Many turtles were saved and many escaped unharmed and the
huge yellow tagged adults from the breeding pond could be seen around
the Island for months afterwards.
This was a severe
setback as 75% of the breeders were lost. The turtle release program and
the meat supply was reduced to build up the population again. A new
breeding pond, further inland, was completed by the end of 2002 and the
remaining adults and selected future breeders were moved to their new
home in early 2003. They reproduced from that season on but not at
levels needed to sustain the Farm at the past levels of meat supply and
release.
Hurricane Michelle
may have been the cloud's silver lining in that it was the catalyst to
move the whole turtle operation further from the sea. While this was
being planned, the idea of an expanded facility to include a nature park
was conceived and so was born Boatswain's Beach. This 23 acre park
features a reef lagoon in which guests can snorkel, a predator tank, a
free flight aviary, a woodland nature trail and a zero entry fresh water
rock pool, complete with waterfall provide guests with hours of
entertainment.
On September 11th
2004 we were hit by the worst hurricane in the recorded history of the
Island, Hurricane Ivan and what little of the facility near the sea that
had survived Michelle was just about eliminated. No turtles were lost
this however time as there was ample warning of the storm's approach and
the turtles near the sea were all moved to safer areas.
Reproduction
All wild turtles
and eggs were obtained legally through official programs. Eggs and adult
turtles were purchased from local legal collectors and fishermen and
yearling turtles were returned for release. The last turtles for the
breeding herd were obtained in 1975 and the last eggs collected in 1976.
The first
nesting occurred in 1973 by adults obtained from the wild. In 1975, the
first turtles raised from eggs obtained from the wild reproduced. The
first second generation captive turtles were hatched in 1989.
Before Hurricane
Michelle, the breeding herd of 355 green turtles consisted of 147
"parental" stock obtained as adults from the wild and turtles raised
from eggs obtained from the wild. The remaining 208 adults were first
generation (F1) turtles. These were kept in a 1,000,000 gallon pond with
a beach for nesting.
The 90 breeders
that were left after Hurricane Michelle were kept in holding tanks
during 2002 and consequently there were no nesting that year. These
along with some young turtles selected from stock, christened the new
Breeding Pond in early 2003 and produced 900 hatchlings that season.
Nesting continued at this lower level during the next 4 years.
Efforts are
continuing to remove turtles which were put into the breeding pond at
the approach of Hurricane Ivan. The goal is to establish a heard of
approximately 400 females and 100 males from which the best breeders can
be selected. As of January 2011 there are approximately 290 female
turtles and 72 male turtles in the Breeding Pond and approximately 5000
turtles in total at the Farm.
In years
1968: the Cayman Turtle Farm, the first commercial venture to
domesticate Green Sea Turtles begins. It is founded as Mariculture Ltd
by Irvin Naylor, Henry Hamlin, Dr. Samuel Ayres III & Anthony G.A.
Fisher with the blessing of and an exclusive franchise from the Cayman
islands Government.
1968-1978: To form the herd, eggs, adults and sub-adult turtles
are collected from the wild. A minimum of 477,644 eggs were collected
from Ascension Island, Costa Rica, Guyana and Suriname.
1973: Mating & hatching of the Green Sea Turtle in captivity is
achieved.
1975: A turtle hatches at the Farm, is reared to sexual maturity
and is able to mate and nest with a hatch rate of 33 percent.
1980: The Farm introduces a small group of yearling and hatchling
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles - to establish a captive breeding colony of
this endangered species and to obtain further biological data on this
species in a controlled environment.
1983: The Turtle Farm reaches another operational milestone when
the Cayman Islands Government purchases it from its previous owners and
is incorporated as Cayman Turtle Farm Ltd.
1984: The first observed nesting in captivity of the Kemp’s
Ridley sea turtle occurs at the farm.
1989: The Turtle Farm registers another significant achievement
when second generation turtles first hatch.
2000: The Farm becomes one of the largest tourist attractions on
the Island, attracting over 340,000 visitors.
2001: The idea for Boatswain’s Beach is born when Hurricane
Michelle causes irreparable damage to the Turtle Farm. Several meetings
involving planning teams, construction engineers, members of the public
and representatives from both the government and the private sector
results in a promise that Cayman will soon be home to one of the most
exciting tourist attractions in the Caribbean. At this point, the marine
adventure park may have been the only architectural project in the world
involving cab drivers.
2003: Design work is completed and the group seeks planning
permission for a world-class marine park created on 23 acres. The
project involves massive landscaping, construction of a host of new
buildings encompassing 50,000 square feet, a series of sophisticated
water-based features and more than a dozen subcontractors.
2004: Construction of the reception building and water features
begin. When Hurricane Ivan descends on Cayman, the project suffers only
minimal damage.
 2010:
In May of 2010 the name of the facility was changed, dropping entirely
the “Boatswain’s Beach” reference, returning to an earlier, easier and
simpler title: Cayman Turtle Farm.
Because it was important for visitors to know about the park’s other
attractions, beyond its sea turtles, a subtitle as added as well and the
new name was determined: “Cayman Turtle Farm: Island Wildlife
Encounter”.
A new logo was developed for the new name This new logo offers four
pictures: That of a turtle is a reference not just historical residents
and star performers at the farm, as well as the Island’s cultural past,
but the symbol of the turtle is also a reminder of the Farm’s ongoing
and world renowned research and conservation activities in addition to
the traditional turtle-breeding and release programmes.
The second image is that of a Cayman parrot, the National Bird, drawing
attention to both our aviary and also to encounters with some of our
other indigenous wildlife.
The picture of a shark directs visitors to the marine life, interactive
swimming, feeding and predator tanks, as well as the excitement of
seeing underwater wildlife.
And, finally, the fourth image in the logo depicts a small bloom of
silver thatch – another National Symbol - referring to the nature trails
and promotion of Caymanian traditions and culture.
The new name not only describes the interactive nature of the facility,
through the use of the word ‘encounter’ but also reminds residents and
visitors of the park’s older, familiar and popular name, which has in
effect really always remained in use anyway.
Today the Farm continues to grow adding new features to enhance the
entertainment facet of the farm but also work continues to keep the
Farm’s research and conservation activities up to par with the global
standards.
Source: official site of
Cayman Turtle Farm (2013)
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