World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

HONDURASBarbareta and Guanaja), although populations in this region are said to bebadly depleted. From the Bay Islands east to Cabo Gracias a Dies there areextensive seagrass flats also apparently frequented by these species (Carret al. . 1982).THREATSCarr et al (1982) state that by far the heaviest pressure on turtles inCaribbean Honduran waters comes from incidental catch in shrimp trawls.They report that shrimp fishermen admit to taking Green Turtles, Hawksbillsand Loggerheads with some regularity and state that turtles were generallytaken wherever they were found.EXPLOITATIONCommodity According to Carr et al. (1982) some Hawksbills are apparentlytaken for their shell; this is corroborated by Japanese import statisticsfor bekko which indicate a substantial trade from Honduras, particularly inthe period 1980-85. CITES statistics indicate that there has beenconsiderable export of turtle leather (declared to be chiefly from C. mydas )from Honduras in the period 1979-82 (see below).Portillo ( in litt , 20 August 1986), talking of the country as a whole,states that there is subsistence utilisation of C. mydas meat; this islikely to refer to the Caribbean coast as turtle meat is reportedly notgenerally eaten on the Pacific coast (Cornelius, 1981). He also refers tothe harvest of eggs of both species for subsistence and to supply domesticmarkets; this is known to occur on the Pacific coast and is likely to takeplace on the Caribbean coast. Cruz and Espinal (1987) confirmed that eggsare heavily collected along the Hiskitia coast for subsistence purposes.Hunting methods Most Green Turtles are caught accidentally in shrimptrawls, but three fishermen on Utlla, ten on Roatan and five on Guanaja aresaid to set special large-mesh turtle nets. The main season for thisfishery is June-September. Hawksbills are usually caught by lobster diversusing hooks and gaffs, as they are easier to approach than the fasterswimming Green Turtles (Cruz and Esplnal, 1987).Hunting Intensity Carr et al (1982), implied that turtles are takenwherever they are found. Cruz and Esplnal (1987) reported that in Isla deUtila nobody depended exclusively on turtle fishing, but that they werecaught opportunistically for the sale of shell. Most lobster fishing boatsalso catch turtles. The total catch of Hawksbills was estimated, frominterviews with fishermen, to be around 5000 a year. However, some of thesewill have been caught In Nicaraguan waters. Green Turtles are mostly caughtaccidentally in the nets of shrimp boats, about 1000 a year being caught inthis way.Historical trends Exploitation of the Green and Hawksbill Turtles In theBahla Islands has a history stretching back at least 300 years. Cruz andEsplnal (1987) reported that the number of merchants buying tortoiseshell onthe Mlskltla coast had increased In the previous five years. Fishingpressure was presumably higher, as the lobster fleet had increased from 80boats In 1977 to 180 In 1987, although the price of Hawksbill shell haddecreased from around L80 a lb to L30 over the same period. This wasattributed to stricter international trade controls.225