World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

FIJIThere is little qualitative information on hunting levels since 1971.Bustard (1970) reported that hunting in 1969 was intense and that turtleswere killed as soon as they came up to lay, in spite of protectivelegislation. Hirth (1971) estimated that off the north coast of Viti Levu,about 80 C. mydas were caught in October alone. Pritchard (1979) indicatedthat the laws were still being flouted and that the hunting continued.Hunting methods The major methods of turtle capture are by spear andnets. Legislation defines the type of spear that may be used and stipulatesthat it must be furnished with a barb (Hirth, 1971). Many turtles arekilled on the nesting beaches and if the hunters notice a nest that theyhave missed they return about a fortnight later to look for the returningfemale (Bustard, 1970).Historical trends Bustard (1970) considered that the hunting of turtlesand their eggs had evidently been carried on "in some degree for hundreds ofyears"; however he thought that the greater mobility afforded by outboardmotors, the growing human population and the demand for meat from touristhotels would inevitably have increased the hunting pressure.Domestic trade In 1969, Green Turtle meat sold in the market for30 c a lb (66 c a kg), and appeared on the menu in first-class hotels.Hawksbill shell jewellery and curios were on sale in Suva and in the market,varying in price from 30 c for a spoon to $30 for a whole carapace. Thewholesale price of Hawksbill and Green Turtle shell was $5 and $1.85 a lb($11 and $4.07 a kg) respectively (Hirth, 1971).International trade The export of turtle meat has been prohibited since1965 (G. Nath in litt. , 16 September 1986). Hirth (1971) reported that,prior to 1969, a total of 500 lbs (227 kg) of turtle shell could be exportedannually, but that on 10 September 1969, all export of shell was bannedexcept under special permit. Fijian Customs statistics recorded the exportof raw tortoiseshell up until 1980, and these figures (Table 61) indicatethat substantial exports continued until 1980, far in excess even of the227-kg quota mentioned by Hirth (1971). The Fisheries Division of theMinistry of Primary Industries supplied figures of the exports of turtleshell from 1981 to 1985 which amounted to 50 kg, 76 kg, 93 kg, 56 kg and505 kg for the five years respectively (G. Nath in litt. . 16 September1986). Exports for 1986 and 1987 were 293 kg and 1688 kg (Fiji Bureau ofStatistics, quoted by T. Daly in litt. . 21 July 1988). Some of the shellexported is evidently of C. mydas . as Hirth (1971) noted that only 64% ofthe 302 lb (137 kg) of turtle shell exported in 1969 and 29% of the 593 lb(270 kg) exported in 1968 was the shell of E. imbricata . Japanese Customsstatistics record the import of raw tortoiseshell from Fiji, and thequantities are shown in Table 64. Almost all was bekko ( E. imbricata ) but101 kg of other tortoiseshell was imported in 1972. The Japanese figuresindicate that the figures supplied by the Ministry of Primary Industries mayhave significantly under-estimated the true export trade.Fiji also has substantial trade in worked tortoiseshell items, which arerecorded in Fijian Customs statistics; imports are shown in Table 62 andexports in Table 63. The quantities in these tables are the values inFijian dollars; so it is difficult to relate these to the amount of turtleshell. However there is clearly a large net import. Some of the exportsreported may be re-exports of previously imported material, but some isprobably manufactured in the country. As no imports of raw tortoiseshellare reported it must be assumed that the raw material derives from turtlescaught in the islands.187