Fisheries Department releases hicatees into the wild
The Hicatee is considered a delicacy and while it is not illegal to hunt the turtles for personal consumption, it is an offence to hunt them for commercial purposes. Today, sixteen Hicatee turtles were returned to their natural habitat after officials from the Fisheries Department caught up on two men with the turtles at the bridge in the Muscle Creek Area. The animals are protected under the Fisheries Regulations and supervisor at the Fisheries Department, Julio Maaz says that the Hicatee is an endangered specie. Maaz told News Five that a tip that led them to the area.
Julio Maaz, Supervisor, Fisheries Department
“Yesterday in the afternoon, we received information of illegal netting activity in the Muscle Creek Area. Following up on that tip, we proceeded to the Muscle Creek Area. About twenty minutes into the patrol, we observed some nets in the water. Upon coming closer to the nets we observed two individuals run into the bushes. We approached the area where the individuals were; upon making inspections we found sixteen hicatee turtles, all of them placed in ‘krokos’ bag ready for them to be shipped out for the markets. The turtles were healthy, they were a bit dehydrated. We do not know how long they have been out of water. We brought them back here to the fisheries department offices. After making the necessary paperwork, we took them back to our Biscayne facility where we secured them for the night. And this morning because we didn’t know the level of stress the animals were in we decided to release them early this morning into the wild.”
“Fishing for hicatee for commercial purposes is illegal. We advise the public not to buy nor sell hicatee. We do allow the fishing of hicatee for subsistence use. What happened is that the nets were illegally placed. The law does not provide for the nets to be placed across and cross the river. It covers a passage of water. It prohibits passage and the free flow of traffic and therefore they are illegal. The nets were confiscate and since nobody was in the area, therefore the nets will be destroyed.”
Anyone found in the possession of the turtles for commercial purposes, can be fined up to two thousand dollars per hicatee.
