World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

HONDURASDomestic trade Green Turtle meat is the main meat sold in the BahiaIslands and fetches L2 a lb (US$0. S a kg) on Utila and L2.S-3 a lb in Roatanand Guanaja. Hawksbill meat and turtle eggs are seldom sold, but areconsumed on a subsistence basis. Hawlcsbill shell is actively and illegallytraded with little official intervention. The price paid on the Mislcitiacoast, L20-30 a lb (US$4-7 a kg) is much less than that on the Bahia Islands(L40 a lb) or in La Ceiba (L70-80 a lb).International trade CITES statistics show a substantial export fromItaly for the years 1978-82 of worked items of C. mydas leather originatingin Honduras. Exports were to a wide variety of countries and amounted to 84items in 1978, 1026 items in 1979 (including SO actual skins), 10 165 itemsin 1980 (including 1336 skins), 4980 items in 1981 (including 498 skins) and2111 in 1983. In 1984 Italy removed its reservation on C. mydas ; no furthertrade is reported in CITES statistics.Table 74 shows a substantial reported import of tortoiseshell (bekko) fromHonduras to Japan in the period 1972-86. Total exports in the period were9258 kg, 95% (8815 kg) of which were exported in the period 1980-85. Thisrapid increase in exports coincides with a decrease in declared exports fromadjacent Nicaragua - of the 12 661 kg of Tortoiseshell exported from thatcountry to Japan in the period 1972-86, 91% (11 570 kg) was exported before1980. Honduras acceded to CITES in 1985 and no exports of tortoiseshellwere reported (by Japan) in 1986. According tc Portillo ( in litt ,20 August 1986) tortoiseshell is exported both unworked and as manufacturedarticles. Cruz and Espinal (1987) estimated that the annual take of 5000Hawksbills would produce 7500-22 500 lbs (3400-10 230 kg) of shell. This ishigher than the exports to Japan shown in Table 74, which suggests eitherthat the catch was overestimated or that some of the shell is exported viaother countries. Some Hawksbill shell was thought to be smuggled out of theBahia Islands to Grand Cayman.Table 74. Imports of bekko to Japan from Honduras, reported in JapaneseCustoms Statistics, 1972-86.