Harvestable turtles at the Cayman Turtle Farm faced complete depletion by June of 2011 had the traditional slaughter rate continued.

The revelation was made during debate on a Private Member’s Motion moved by Leader of the Opposition Kurt Tibbetts requesting the Turtle Farm Board of Directors and its managing director to consider returning the cost of turtle meat to the prices in effect before a large price increase on 8 February.

In responding to the motion, Premier McKeeva Bush spoke about the economic reasons for the price increase as well the supply reason.

“If we were to continue harvesting turtles, butchering them, at the rate of 40 turtles per week – the same rate that has been in effect for years up until when the price increased – we would run out of harvestable turtles in the next year and a half, just 18 short months,” he said.

Although the amount of turtle meat sold declined immediately after the price hike, Mr. Bush said that since then the amount of turtle meat sold has increased every week. He said if demand caused harvest rates to return to 40 turtles per week, then the supply would have to be cut to 20 turtles per week by June of this year.

Speaking afterwards, Turtle Farm Managing Director Tim Adam said the reduction of supply could come as soon as May of this year.

“And that’s going to continue for at least three to four years,” he said.

Mr. Adam said the dwindling supply of harvestable turtles was a problem that first started after Hurricane Michelle’s passing in November 2001.  Large waves generated by the storm inundated the Turtle Farm, killing some turtles and washing others out to sea.

“We lost a large amount of our best breeders,” he said.

Since then, hatch rates of turtle eggs have dropped considerably, disrupting the “pipeline” that produced harvestable turtles.

As with any farmed animal, there is an ideal age and weight for harvesting turtle, Mr. Adam said, adding that the age is between four and five years for turtles. However, he said that it generally takes about 10 years to produce breeding turtles.

Turtle meat subsidy sought

Mr. Tibbetts’ motion called for the government to apply a portion of the annual subsidy it gave to Boatswain’s Beach/Cayman Turtle Farm to cover any losses incurred from selling turtle meat at the pre-increase prices.

 On 5 February, the Turtle Farm raised prices of turtle stew meat from CI$5.40 to CI$16 per pound.  Turtle steak increased from $9 to $27 per pound; turtle menavalin increased from $4 to $12 per pound; and turtle bone increased from $2 to $6 per pound.

Mr. Tibbetts’ motion stated that as a result of the price increases, turtle meat had become unaffordable for many people and restaurants.

“There are those who would very readily say an apt description for this motion would be that it is a frivolous one,” he said when introducing the motion. “The fact is that it could have been made by any one of my colleagues because there has been tremendous representation to us about the sudden [price] increase.”

Mr. Tibbetts said the Cayman public had grown accustomed to buying turtle meat and cooking it themselves or buying from a restaurant.  He said restaurant owners have told him they need to sell turtle dinners for at least $19 to $21 dollars now. 

“People can’t afford to buy it at that price,” he said. “This is something our constituents don’t want visited on them.”

Speaking about another possible repercussion of the price increase, Mr. Tibbetts said he had received text messages from people who stated that since they couldn’t get turtle meat from the farm anymore, they knew where to get it now, a reference to the illegal taking of turtles from the wild.

“We don’t want to go back to that,” he said, admitting that poaching was already occurring.

Cayman Brac and Little Cayman MLA Moses Kirkconnell said he had seconded Mr. Tibbetts’ motion because of representation from his constituents.

He echoed Mr. Tibbetts’ concerns that unless turtle meat was affordable, he feared people would resort to poaching.

Sustainability

Mr. Bush began the government’s response to the motion by saying he realised turtle was the national dish of the Cayman Islands.

“But no one can convince me that anyone is addicted to turtle meat and that they will die if they don’t get it,” he said. “The way the leader of the opposition is carrying on, if people don’t have a plate of turtle stew in front of them, the whole island will fall apart.”

Mr. Bush said the setting of the price of products sold at the Turtle Farm, including turtle meat, was a management responsibility and not a shareholders’ decision.  He said management was asked to make economic decisions that would make the Turtle Farm economically sustainable over the long term.

“The price should cover the... cost of producing the product,” he said. “The price the Turtle Farm is now charging is barely covering the cost.

“Therefore, these price increases were essential to ensure the sustainability of the Turtle Farm.”

Mr. Bush said if the Turtle Farm were to go back to selling turtle at the pre-increase prices, the government would be subsidising restaurants and private individuals who ate turtle.

Price comparison

Mr. Bush argued that the price of turtle after the price increase was not more expensive – and was in some cases less expensive - than filet mignon, salmon, rack of lamb and lobster tail, all of which are purchased regularly in supermarkets and restaurants.

He noted that many countries produced those other kinds of meats, but the only place in the world that produced turtle was the Cayman Turtle Farm.

“At $16 a pound, it’s probably the lowest cost for meat with the same rarity,” he said.

In replying to Mr. Bush, Mr. Tibbetts said he did not think the comparison to other kinds of meat was reasonable because the people who ate those kinds of meats generally weren’t the people who ate turtle.

Although he did not agree that the price of turtle meat should be increased purely for financial reasons since the Turtle Farm was already receiving a big subsidy, Mr. Tibbetts said the sustainability of the herd should be the primary concern.  But rather than increasing the price, he said the Turtle Farm might have been better off reducing supply or even having a moratorium on the sale of turtle meat for a period of time.

Mr. Tibbett’s motion was defeated eight votes to six with independent North Side MLA Ezzard Miller voting in favour of the motion along with all five opposition members.  Government Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly left the Legislative Assembly chamber moments before the vote was taken.