World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

EGYPTcurios, but not, apparently, in large numbers. Some Bishari people mak.eshields from the carapaces of E. imbricata (Frazier and Salas, 1984).Hunting intensity Current levels of exploitation for eggs and meat donot seem to be heavy. Sella (1982) reported that both E. imbricata andC. mydas were occasionally caught in Sinai, and that the eggs of C . mydaswere collected opportunistically by the sparse Bedouin population in theregion. The total incidental catch per year probably does not exceed 270turtles (C. Bean, cited in Frazier and Salas, 1984), about 160 being takenby trawlers and 56 in nylon gill nets.Hunting methods There is no documentation of organised fishing forturtles, although they are reported to be "eagerly sought on land and in thesea". There is a significant incidental catch of turtles in gill nets and,particularly, trawls (Frazier and Salas, 1984).Historical trends Exploitation of Hawksbill Turtles for shell has a longhistory in Egypt, dating back, to predynastic times. The warehouses inAlexandria were said to be full of this commodity when they were taken byJulius Caesar (Parsons, 1972).Domestic trade There is little attempt to trade specifically inHawksbill shell; one informant had sold an entire carapace for the trivialsum of US$S, and claimed to catch only one or two Hawksbills a year (Frazierand Salas, 1984). Even if the animal is used for food the shell is rarelycollected.International trade It is by way of Egypt that the majority oftortoiseshell reached Rome, although much of it was brought by Arab tradersfrom elsewhere in the Indian Ocean (Parsons, 1972). In the 1930s, about 2000Green Turtles a year were imported from the Mediterranean coast of Palestineto Egypt, whence they probably went to supply the British market (Sella,1982) . There is no evidence for a continuing international trade intortoiseshell or turtle meat. CITES Annual Reports indicate imports of oneshell of C. mydas from Egypt to Italy in 1985 and one to the UK in 1983.LEGISLATIONThere are believed to be no regulations prohibiting the capture ofturtles in Egypt, except those relating to protected areas.177