From Bassey Willie, Yenagoa
“Sea turtles keep our oceans alive by grazing seagrass and controlling jellyfish, yet they are hunted to extinction as coastal communities trade ocean health for today’s meal.”
That was the lamentation of conservationist, Mr. Ebiegberi Henry Raynus, who has spent years trying to dissuade coastal residents from killing the endangered species.
As part of the 2030 Marine Conservation Target, some coastal communities in Bayelsa State were explored to find out how they are preserving this sea creature, in order to sustain it advantages to the ocean and aquatic lives.
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It was observed that despite their ecological value, sea turtles remain under serious threat, driven by fishermen and coastal residents who hunt and feed on them.
In many coastal communities across Nigeria and the Niger Delta, hunting of sea turtles for meat and eggs continues due to tradition, poverty and weak enforcement. The threat is worsened by plastic pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, and destruction of nesting beaches.
Killing them damages seagrass beds, increases jellyfish population and weakens fisheries, hurting the same people who depend on the sea. According to Raynus, protecting sea turtles is not just about wildlife, but about food security and a healthy ocean for future generations.
Ecological Importance
Sea turtles perform several critical functions for ocean health, but some residents of Bayelsa and other Niger Delta states still see them as free meat, ignoring health risks and the laws protecting them.
Studies show sea turtles help clear ocean grasses to give other aquatic life easy movement and healthy living, and help control erosion.
Their eggshells, unhatched eggs and hatchlings, when washed into the ocean, become fertilizer and feed beach plants like sea oats and mangroves, which stop erosion and filter river water before it hits the sea.
Female sea turtles, conservationists say, return to the exact shore where they were hatched to nest, despite migrating thousands of kilometres, a journey during which they face the greatest danger of being harvested for food.
There are seven species of sea turtles alive today, all lay eggs on land but live in the ocean. These include: Green Sea Turtle, smooth shell, about 1.5m, up to 200kg, found in Lekki, Badagry beaches in Lagos; Loggerhead, about 1m, up to 115kg, found occasionally in the Atlantic; Hawksbill, 90cm, up to 80kg, found in tropical reefs worldwide; Olive Ridley, about 70cm, up to 45kg, mostly found in Epe, Lekki, Badagry; Kemp’s Ridley, critically endangered, nests only in Gulf of Mexico, not found in Africa; Leatherback, about 2m+, up to 700kg, migrates from Nigerian waters to deep oceans; and Flatback, about 1m, up to 90kg, only found in Australia.
Fishermen’s Perspective
A fisherman in Fropa shore in Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa, Keme Kingston, told this reporter that fishermen don’t go specifically to catch sea turtles, but they get trapped in nets.
“God did not tell us not to eat sea turtles, he rather created the river and gave it to man to take charge, so anything living in the river is supposed to be food for man. But since those that are educated told us that they are endangered, maybe we will have a rethink.
“But for now, there is no government law that prohibits fishermen from catching sea turtles. Fishing is my source of livelihood. Without catching fish and selling, I will not be able to feed my family, so any fish whether sea turtle or any specie that enters my net, is God’s provision,” he said.
A resident of Akassa in Brass LGA, Holiday Abraham, said before now people caught turtles during nesting and harvested both the female and eggs, but since community leadership enacted a law against it, the killing has stopped.
Why Akassa Community Prohibits Killing of Sea Turtles
Chief Ereku Bomuolagho, acting Executive Secretary of Akassa Development Foundation, in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, which has championed protection of sea turtles for two decades, said they conserve the species for tourism and its contribution to a healthy marine ecosystem.
He said: “We preserved this endangered species primarily for tourism. In more developed climes, sea turtles are tourist attractions. In some European countries, people go to the beach to ride on it just like horse.
“If you allow endangered species to be killed anyhow, they will just disappear. Like in my area Akassa, there are certain species of fish you can hardly find now because human beings killed them, particularly trawlers.”
He added that international conservation unions have made laws for trawlers to have a Turtle Excluder Device for turtles to escape if caught.
Health Risks: Biotoxins Make It Risky for Consumption – Nutritionist
Several studies have shown that eating sea turtles or their eggs poses severe human health risks, including deadly food poisoning, heavy metal toxicity and bacterial infections.
Nutrition Specialist, Mrs Rose Feke, explained that while sea turtle meat contains protein that supports growth and tissue repair, iron for haemoglobin, zinc for immunity, Vitamin B12 for red blood cells, phosphorus for bones and fat for energy, these benefits do not make it a recommended food because of contamination.
She said: “Safer foods such as fish, eggs, poultry, beans and other animal-source foods can provide the same nutrients.”
She listed the health risks to include: food poisoning from Salmonella and other pathogens; heavy-metal exposure, turtles accumulate mercury, lead and cadmium from the marine environment; biotoxins and chemical contaminants from polluted water; parasitic infection from raw or undercooked meat; gastrointestinal illness causing vomiting, diarrhoea and fever; and long-term effects on nervous system and kidneys.
“For children and pregnant people, avoiding sea turtle meat and eggs is particularly important because exposure to certain contaminants can be more concerning during growth and development. Also, sea turtles are protected wildlife in many countries, so hunting, selling or consuming them may be illegal,” she said.
Why Sea Turtles Are Protected
Mr. Ebiegberi Henry Raynus, Executive Director of Safe Earth Foundation (SEF) and Secretary of the West Africa Sea Turtle Conservation Network, said the species is protected because of tourism potential and its contribution to beach and ocean health.
He urged government to emulate community efforts by enacting a law prohibiting hunting of the endangered species, noting that protecting sea turtles supports Nigeria’s 2030 marine conservation target.
He said: “Many countries use sea turtles as revenue drive. If you have a sea turtle sanctuary, people can come for sightseeing and pay for it, and the place will boom.
“Sea turtle is a big business in tourism and fashion. The carapace is used for eyelashes, fingernails for females. The fashion industry goes after sea turtles and pangolins.
“Again, sea turtles clear grasses in the ocean, reduce jellyfish, thereby enhancing catch for fishermen. They help reclaim beaches, contribute nutrients to the coastline that enable grasses to grow. The grasses help control erosion.”
Raynus lamented that there is no law in Bayelsa State protecting sea turtles. “It should not be the responsibility of the community to put up law. If there is a government law, everybody will abide by it.”
How Akassa By-Law Started
Raynus traced conservation in Akassa to 1997, when nothing was happening about sea turtles in West Africa. His reports helped Nigeria become a member of the UN Convention on Migratory Species.
“Akassa Development Foundation then was using sea turtle as part of their natural resources programme. It was a verbal agreement, if you kill sea turtle, you won’t have project in your location.
“Fast forward to 2002, Safe Earth Foundation picked up the programme. In 2025, we facilitated a by-law through the Community Chiefs Council. Everybody is abiding by the rules. If they catch sea turtle accidentally, they report to us for release. Release became intense when the law came up.”
He explained the double danger turtles face: entanglement as by-catch in nets, and harvesting during nesting. “If caught after nesting, they harvest both the female and eggs, wiping out an entire generation. Just one percent of eggs survive. If a turtle lays 100 eggs, not more than three will survive, that is why they are endangered.”
As of press time, the Bayelsa State government is yet to take action against indiscriminate hunting. Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Ben Ebi Ololo, did not respond to calls and text messages seeking government position, and was said to be in a meeting when our reporter visited his office at the State Secretariat in Ovom, Yenagoa.
This Story was produced with funding from the Colonists Report Africa as part of the 2030 Marine Conservation Target reporting initiative, supported by the Earth Journalism Network.
