World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

KIRIBATIcatching 200-300 Green turtles during eight days is said to have attractednumerous vessels to stop there for provisions during the 19th century.Other remote islands are said to have been visited by foreigners hunting forturtles (Balazs, 1982c).Domestic trade Very little turtle meat is sold, but the price at theLocal Produce Division is $0.50 a lb ($1 a kg). Carapaces of 40-50 cmlength sell for $8.00 each. Apart from Tarawa, the only other area withsignificant trade in carapaces is Kuria (Anon., 1979c).International trade Some of the turtle carapaces sold are said to bedestined for export and this market is growing (Anon., 1979c). FijianCustoms statistics (q.v.) report imports of worked tortoiseshell productsfrom Kiribati in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1978.Kiribati is not a Party to CITES, and no trade in turtle products has beenrecorded in the Annual Reports except for leather products imported to andre-exported from Italy in 1982 and 1983. This appears to have been due to amisapprehension on the part of the Italians that "KI" was the code forCayman Islands, where all the leather is believed to have originated.RANCHINGSubsistence level rearing of turtles is said to be "conunon practice" inKiribati, when turtles are caught in excess of family requirements or whenthey are needed for future feasts. They are kept in pools or enclosures,and are fed on leaves, coconut, fish, seaweeds and grass. Hatchling turtlesare occasionally reared on a diet of small bivalves, but this is notgenerally thought to repay the effort. On Taratal (Tarawa) a farmer wasreported to have raised 50-60 C. mydas in an enclosed lagoon for 12 months,allowing them to feed naturally on mangroves and algae. During six monthsthey grew from 15-20 cm to 40-50 cm. Another man was said to have grown aGreen Turtle from 30 to 95 cm over a period of five years, feeding it oncoconut and Portuluca (Creeping Grass) (Anon., 1979c).LEGISLATIONWildlife Conservation Ordinance 1975, 29 May 1975The taking of any wild turtle on land is prohibited except under licence.The taking of C. mydas is prohibited in some areas.The possession of species, their products or eggs which have beenillegally acquired is prohibited.29S