World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

PAKISTANbakeries who used them in bread and cakes (Kabraji and Firdous, 1984).Turtle eggs, apparently only in small numbers, are utilised in Baluchistan(Groombridge, et al , 1988).International trade Export of turtle products is now illegal, but duringthe early 1970s there was some export of meat, mostly to Japan (Kabraji andFirdous, 1984). According to Ghalib and Zaidi (1976) local exporters hadbeen trading in turtles and turtle products on an "extravagant" scale. TwoKarachi firms, M/s. Kaiser Corporation and M/s. Ghazi and Co., werereportedly the major exporters, and had been involved in trading turtle skinand meat for a "very long" time. This exploitation was stopped by the SindWildlife Management Board in 1972.Telford (1976) reported information from a reliable source that "manythousands" of turtles were taken during the 1975 season at Ormara(Baluchistan) by a Karachi trader who exported the leather through Japanesebuyers. Local informants at Ormara reported that every turtle emerging wastaken in 1985, although exploitation at Ormara has now ceased and will notbe permitted in future (Groombridge et al , 1988.Turtles taken at Ormara were butchered on the spot and the carcassesrendered for oil which was exported in drums to Muscat, reportedly to beused to treat wooden sailing dhows. Oil is also reportedly the main productof turtles harvested at Jiwani and on Astola. Because of the directmaritime links between the Baluchistan ports and Oman, no record isavailable of this export.In spite of the complete ban on exports of turtle products since 1975,Pakistan's Customs statistics reported exports of raw tortoiseshell from1981 to 1983. A total of 1800 kg were exported from July 1981 to June 1982,and 1868 kg from July 1982 to June 1983. It is not known what species thisrefers to.There are also indications of exports from Pakistan In the Japanese importstatistics (Table 154). No Imports of "bekko" ( K. Imbrlcata shell) werereported from 1970 to 1985, and the only shell imported was in the category"Tortoiseshell claws and waste of tortoiseshell, excluding bekko". This,therefore, probably represents the shell of C. mydas . There were alsoreports of imports of turtle skin from Pakistan, and these are also given inTable 154. It is not known what species this refers to, but It was probablyalso of C. mydas .Table 154. Imports of turtle products to Japan from Pakistan reported inJapanese Customs statistics by weight (kg) and value (YIOOO).1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985Shell(kg)