World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

MARTINIQUE1982). The mean annual catch of turtles in 1985 and 1986 was said to be437-529 for E. imbricata and 595-685 for C. mydas . The main fishing areafor the former was the north-east and for the latter, the south-east. Onlyabout ten of the 1000 fishermen in Martinique specialise in catchingturtles, but it is estimated that some 7 km of turtle net are set (Dropsy,1987).Hunting methods Nesting turtles were said to be taken on the beachwhenever they were found (Carr et al , 1982) . A few families use large-meshnets (10-40 cm) for catching sharks, rays and turtles but accidental captureof turtles in lobster nets are said to be "not rare". Some turtles are alsocaught by divers, especially unemployed youths. This activity goes onthroughout the year, but net fishery is mainly carried out from July toJanuary. Eggs are also collected opportunistically, but not in an organisedfashion (Dropsy, 1987).Historical trends FAQ Fisheries statistics for the catch of "marineturtles not elsewhere specified" are given in Table 137. From 1971 to 1973,catches of less than 50 tonnes were recorded.Table 137.. Catches of "marine turtles, not elsewhere specified" (t) inMartinique, recorded in FAG Fisheries statistics.1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 198421 34 14 24 11 46 46 46 54 50 51Domestic trade Carr et al. (1982) considered the tourist trade in shell,stuffed turtles, and jewellery to be 'monumental*, and observed boxfuls ofstuffed juvenile Hawksbills for sale in souvenir markets in Fort de France.Fretey (1984c) reported that turtle products were sold to tourists in greatnumbers. He said that some Hawksbill shell was worked locally by prisonersin the Fort de France prison. Live turtles are said to sell for F50-5000,depending on size, steak for F50-60 a kg, polished carapaces for F200-1500and stuffed turtles for F400-2000. The laws forbidding the sale of turtleproducts for six months are openly flouted (Dropsy, 1987; Le Serrec, 1987).International trade As an Overseas Department of France, Martinique isincluded in the EEC regulations and also under the French ratification ofCITES (11 May 1978). France had placed reservations on C. mydas andE. imbricata but these were withdrawn on 1 January 1984. CITES AnnualReports for the period 1977-1985 recorded the import to the USA fromMartinique of only one shell of C. mydas .Fretey (1984c) reported figures obtained from the Prefecture showing theimport, in 1979, of 89 kg (value, 6000 francs) of raw shell and 1214 kg(value, 98 000 francs) of polished shell. Imports of bekko from the FrenchWest Indies reported in Japanese Customs statistics are discussed in thesection on Guadeloupe.There are unconfirmed reports that companies from F.R. Germany have recentlyobtained stocks of tortoiseshell from Martinique or Guadeloupe (B. Lutherin litt. , 3 April 1987). Carr et al (1982) reported that a shell dealerfrom Martinique was active in purchasing tortoiseshell for export from otherCaribbean islands, especially Dominica. In 1980, several of the stuffedturtles on sale in tourist shops were said to have been imported from "Saint336