World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

INTRODUCTIONAlthough in global terms, the bulk, of the trade in turtle products occurs incommercial shipments, large quantities are taken across internationalboundaries as personal possessions and tourist souvenirs. This appliesparticularly to polished shells, jewellery and leather goods. In most casesthis trade goes unrecorded, but CITES Reports contain some indication of thecountries from which such souvenirs are obtained. In some countries, suchas Australia and many Pacific Islands, the sale of curios from turtlesprovides the only commercial incentive for killing turtles, and so this formof trade may be locally more important than its low volume might imply.The effect of CITES on international tradeSince the inception of CITES, sea turtles have been accorded increasinglevels of protection under the Convention, culminating in the inclusion ofthe entire family of Cheloniidae in Appendix I in 1981. The salientfeatures of the timetable of sea turtle conservation under CITES aresummarised in Table 6. Although trade in sea turtles has undoubtedlydecreased as a result of the provisions of the Convention, turtle productsare probably traded in greater quantities than any other commoditiessupposedly protected under Appendix I. Some of this trade may be legal, butundoubtedly a large percentage contravenes the Convention.Table 6. Timetable of events relating to the implementation of CITES withrespect to C. mydas and E. imbricata . Where votes were taken the resultsare given in brackets (For/Against/Abstain).1973 Washington Convention.1975 CITES came into force.E. imbricata imbricata (Atlantic Hawksbill) on Appendix I.E. imbricata bissa (Pacific Hawksbill) on Appendix II.C. mydas (Green Turtle) on Appendix II.1976 1st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, Berne.Adoption of the "Berne Criteria" for the inclusion or deletion ofspecies from CITES Appendices.UK ratifies CITES.1977 E. imbricata bissa transferred to Appendix I.Australian population of C. mydas retained on Appendix II, but theremainder of the species transferred to Appendix I.1978 France accepts CITES, but takes reservations on E. imbricata andC. mydas .Indonesia accedes to CITES.1979 2nd Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, San Jose.Conf. 2.12 defines the meaning of "bred in captivity".Cayman Islands included in UK ratification of CITES (8 May).1980 Japan accepts CITES, but takes reservations on L. olivacea .E. imbricata and C. mydas .1981 3rd Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, New Delhi.All Cheloniidae transferred to Appendix I.Conf. 3.15 sets up a procedure for transferring ranched populationsto Appendix II.Suriname accedes to CITES, but takes reservations on D. coriacea andC. mydas .1983 4th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, Botswana.Conf. 4.15 establishes the need for captive-breeding operations to beregistered with the CITES Secretariat.UK Proposal to allow limited trade in captive-bred specimens ofspecies which take longer than 3 years to reach maturity. Discussed36