World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

INDIAin the Gulf of Mannar (Frazier, 1980a). Turtles are also capturedaccidentally in trawl nets, and this is probably the main method of captureon the west coast (Bhaskar, 198Ab; Siraimeetan, 1985).Historical trends The catch of turtles in Tamil Nadu increased over thefirst half of this century. In 1928, the total reported catch in Madras wassaid to be only 28 but by 1950 the catch around Krusadai Island alone hadrisen to 800-1000. In the late 1960s, the annual catch of turtles in theGulf of Mannar and Palk Bay was estimated to be 4000-5000, three-quarters ofwhich were C. mydas . Around Tuticorin in 1973, the catch was estimated tobe 1500, but it has probably increased since (Frazier, 1980a). In Gujarat,sales of turtles are said to be increasing. They are mostly caughtaccidentally in trawls and, whereas formerly the majority were released bythe fishermen, growing numbers are now being landed and sold in the fishmarket at Mithapur (Bhaskar, 1984b). Siraimeetan (1985) reported a similarillegal trade in this region.Domestic trade Turtle eggs are widely sold throught coastal India, wherethey are 6-12 times cheaper than chicken eggs, fetching as little as 5-10paise each. The meat sells for Rs5-10 a kg, which is under half the priceof mutton (Dattatri, 1984), although Bhaskar (1984b) reported a maximumprice of Rs30 a kg in Goa. In southern Tamil Nadu, Green Turtles were storedin pens in shallow water awaiting shipment by rail to markets in the coastaltowns. Between 1967 and 1973, the price of live C. mydas increased by twoto seven times (Kar and Bhaskar, 1982). An analysis of the prices ofturtles on sale in Tuticorin Market, Madras, in 1973 showed that meat soldfor US$0.48 a kg and whole turtles (45-115 cm) ranged in price from US$1.2to US$9. The shell of E. imbricata sold at US$12-18 a kg (Frazier, 1980a).There is some trade in turtle meat in Gujarat, particularly at Mithapur(Bhaskar, 1984b). Turtles are also reported to be transported from thecoastal districts for sale in Dwakara and Bombay (Siraimeetan, 1985).International trade In the 1960s, substantial proportion of the turtlescaught in the Gulf of Mannar were exported to Sri Lanka but, after thistrade was stopped, the merchants in Tuticorin started selling meat tovisiting ships from the USA and F.R. Germany. Between 1966 and 1974, annualexports of meat ranged from 2652 kg to 1095 kg, to a total of nine differentcountries (Frazier, 1980a).India ratified CITES on 20 July 1976. CITES Annual Reports between 1977 and1985 record the import to the USA of 100 carvings of Cheloniidae and fiveE. imbricata leather items from India.Until 1975, when the export of turtle products was banned except with theapproval of the Ministry of Agriculture, there was a regular trade in turtleproducts in and out of India. Frazier (1980a) reported that there was anannual average import of tortoiseshell from Zanzibar of 300 kg between 1891and 1957. He cited figures which indicated that exports of tortoiseshellfrom India fell from 101 772 kg in 1960 to 63 kg in 1974. However these donot agree with Indian Customs export figures (reported by Wells, 1979) ofdomestic exports of unworked tortoiseshell, which are given in Table 77, andshow exports amounting to 2455 kg In 1974. No exports have been reported InIndian Customs Reports since February 1978. Several countries haveIndicated, in their Customs Reports, imports of raw tortoiseshell fromIndia, and these are given In Table 78. These figures confirm that thelevels of International trade have fallen since the 1970s. The peak levelsof trade, reported in 1976 and 1977 (Table 77), may have been attributableto traders attempting to clear their stocks before turtle protectioncontrols were stepped up In 1978.233