Hiccatee are hunted for their meat throughout their range with hunters often favoring the larger, more mature turtles. The stability of the turtle population, which is maintained through the high adult survival rate and extended longevity, is therefore disrupted by human exploitation. The effects of intense hunting year after year have seen a vast decrease in the population of adult Hiccatee, especially the reproductive female.

The project?s goal is to set in place the basic informative infrastructure needed to implement this community based conservation program that will be used to protect and replenish the population of endangered Hiccatee turtle in the Sibun River. Secondly, this project seeks to educate the community in alternative livelihoods and capacity building as relates to the project goal and objectives.
Finally, the community intends to lobby government for a longer Hiccatee closed season for the entire Freetown Sibun Area, Hector Creek, Almond Hill Lagoon and the Burdon Canal.