Swimming with sea turtles, feeding them, and engaging in any form of harassment towards them in the waters of Mauritius is strictly prohibited.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, and Fisheries on Tuesday, January 25th, 2022, concerns have been raised regarding commercial activities related to sea turtles organized by tourism operators in the lagoon of Trou-aux-Biches.
A visual assessment conducted by officers from the Albion Fisheries Research Centre revealed that over 20 boats frequented the area on a daily basis. These operators were observed feeding sea turtles, while swimmers pursued them for physical interaction, such as touching or attempting to hold onto their shells, swimming with them, or taking pictures.
The ministry emphasizes that sea turtles are wild animals classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and are protected under the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 2007.
As a tourist, please refrain from indulging in swimming with turtles or touching them. Many hotels have some third party people staying outside the hotel near the beach and will try and sell you packages for this but please do not indulge in this behaviour.
Some local operators continue to offer trips to feed and swim with turtles – You can see Instagram and Facebook for instance have quite a few photos of tourists swimming with and harrassing them and there are some companies touting the illegal activity as well as local taxi drivers who organize trips.
Issuance of laws is not enough and people especially tourists should be aware of such bans so that they discourage the locals who are promoting it without any consideration to preservation of the marine life.
Please, please, request all the tourists to not indulge in swimming or boating near turtles. Thank you