World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

HAITIin view of the quantity of tortoiseshell known to be imported by Japan (seeTable 71) these landing figures appear to be an underestimate. Cotes dePer, Raymond les Bains, Port Salut, and Conidon were identified as landingsites for turtles and turtle products (Kavanaght, 1984). The laws on turtlefishing are said to be largely ignored (Ottenwalder , 1987a).Hunting methods Kavanaght (1984) reported the use of ordinary andtrammel nets. "Folles" or turtle nets, harpoons and spearguns are alsoused, the majority of juvenile Hawksbills being caught by divers.Domestic trade Carr et al (1982) reported the presence of largequantities of tortoiseshell products for sale at Port-au-Prince airport;according to the shopkeepers, the shell came from local sources. InNovember 1982 a local dealer had whole carapaces available for US$2S.40each, and large bags of tortoiseshell at US$180 a kg. The two major shelldealers in Port-au-Prince were Messrs Chaboco and Etienne (Ottenwalder,1987a).International trade Japanese imports of bekko and other tortoiseshellproducts are shown in Table 71.CITES annual reports for the period 1977-1985 record a considerable tradeinvolving sea turtle products to or from Haiti; these include imports toFrance of 65 kg of scales; imports to the USA of 19 shells; and exports toHaiti of 100 carvings from the USA and 8405 kg of shell from the CaymanIslands. A considerable number of illegal shipments from Haiti have beenseized on entry into the USA and, notably, a shipment of 8413 kg scales(origin Cayman Island) was seized on entry into F.R. Germany. Haiti is notparty to CITES.In view of the large quantities of bekko imported from Haiti by Japan, andtaking into consideration the belief of Carr et al. (1982) that sea turtlesare no longer plentiful in Haitian waters, it seems likely that Haitiprovides a route through which Caribbean turtle products are exported to therest of the world.Table 71. Japanese imports of unworked bekko and other tortoiseshell (kg)from Haiti, 1959 to 1986, recorded in Japanese Customs Statistics. Noimports were reported between 1950 and 1959.1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972Bekko 311 827 2090 899 899 635 820 1016 1468 1482 1415 1415 1303Other - - - - - 45 52 8 82 568 6511973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 198600000Bekko 2390 678 831 1094 1173 959 1689 1020 892 1188 1788 1988 2203 2767Other 4500000000218