2013 • 17' • French & English
Director(s): Hervé Corbière • Producer(s): Grand Angle Productions • Coproducer(s): France Télévisions • Format(s): HD
Around a hundred turtles are caught every week in French Polynesian to end up most often on the plates of rich Tahitian worthies!
Turtle meat is still highly prized amongst the Polynesians in Papeete they are ready to pay more than 250 Euros for a 5kg pack. Knowing that a turtle can often weigh more than 100 kilos, the profits for poachers are substantial. On average an adult turtle can fetch up to 20,000 Euros. Especially during the laying season between the months of August and January. And yet this animal is one of the species protected by the Washington Convention! So when the customs service gets involved sanctions are heavy. Moana had that painful experience. Arrested with two turtles poached off the coast of Tetiaroa, he was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment, his boat was seized and he was ordered to pay a fine of more than 10,000 Euros. Michel Arakino was the only one to extend a hand. Michel eats turtle meat but doesn’t deal in it. Tattooed to his fingertips, he is an impressive figure. “Honu, turtle in Polynesian, is in our genes, our flesh,” as he puts it.
