(CNS): The Cayman Turtle Centre’s latest annual report confirms that the production and sale of turtle meat continues to operate at a significant loss, with taxpayers footing the bill to keep prices low and demand for poaching wild turtles down.
The 2024 annual report shows the company produced 57,782 pounds of edible turtle meat last year, almost identical to 2023, yet the income from these sales made up just 6% of the CTC’s recurring revenue. The report states plainly that turtle meat is sold “at a considerable loss”, and that maintaining the low prices is part of the conservation strategy to reduce poaching.
Turtle meat was increased from $9 per pound to $13 in January of this year, but that has made very little difference due to the cost of producing the meat. In September last year, CTC CEO Chris Jackson told the Public Accounts Committee that it costs the farm around CI$31 to produce one pound of turtle meat.
The meat operation is a subsidised programme rather than a commercial business.
The report explains that the farm remains dependent on government equity injections to meet its debt obligations and running costs, and that these subsidies are built into the government’s ownership agreement. This mirrors the pattern seen in previous annual reports, where the CTC has consistently posted operating losses and relied on public funds to stay afloat.
While this report shows the situation as of December 2024, in this year’s budget, the farm was allocated $9 million to keep the doors open, more than in 2025, when it was allocated over $8.5 million.
Earlier this month, Tourism Minister Gary Rutty came back to parliament and successfully appropriated an additional CI$1.6 million to get the facility through the rest of 2026 because of a surge in running costs, especially the farm’s utility costs.
This means that the annual subsidy for running the facility is now more than $10.5 million per year. According to the plan and estimates for 2027, the expected losses for next year were anticipated to be around CI$8.8 million, which is likely to be almost $2 million short.
Historically, the turtle farm was expected to offset its costs through tourism and meat sales, but the financial statements over many years show that the meat operation has never been profitable.
Even as production levels remain steady and demand for turtle meat continues among Caymanians and some residents, the revenue generated is far below the true cost of raising, processing and distributing the meat. The report makes it clear that the subsidised pricing is intentional, designed to keep turtle meat affordable and reduce the incentive for illegal hunting of wild turtles.
But the result is that the public purse absorbs the difference between the retail price and the real cost of production.
For the average consumer, the subsidy means that turtle meat remains accessible, preserving a long‑standing culinary tradition. But for taxpayers, it means that every pound of meat sold is underwritten by government funds at a time when other public services are under pressure.
The CTC’s audited accounts show that the turtle meat programme is not a revenue generator but a conservation tool, and one that comes with a substantial financial burden.
See the CTC’s 2024 annual and financial report here.