The sun burned magenta as it rose over the edge of the Caribbean island of Dominica and the village of Layou was bustling into life. With his snorkel and mask, Winston Louis, a fit 60-year-old, walked briskly towards the sea. Known to villagers as Dr Titiwi – a reference to a small fish that appears at a certain point in the moon’s cycle – Louis has been fishing since he was 12. He knows the sea intimately.
As Louis swam out, he spotted a large creature flailing in the water. It was a leatherback turtle, caught in Louis’s fishing net. The world’s largest turtle species, and endangered, individuals can weigh up to 900kg (2,000lb). This female had been trying to swim to shore to lay eggs, a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly precarious as nature and humans collide.
