World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

SEYCHELLESmeat could have been eaten while the calipee from the same turtles waspreserved for export.The history of Hawksbill exploitation is easier to document as the onlysignificant product, tortoiseshell , was nearly all destined for export. In1786, Malavois ( fide Hornell, 1927) reported that 1000-1200 lbs (455-545 kg)of tortoiseshell were exported annually. As early as 1842, the CivilCommissioner investigated reports that turtles were being depleted byover-exploitation for shell on Aldabra (Stoddart, 1976). Customs figures(Table 177) show that exports fluctuated between zero and 2.8 t since 1894,except for a figure of over 4 t in 1919 which probably represents the exportof stockpiles accumulated during the War. The levels of harvest are moredifficult to interpret. Mortimer (1984) pointed out that the figures couldbe divided into two periods: from 1894 to 1959, there appeared to be ageneral decline, which she attributed to declining turtle populations; andfrom 1960 onwards, a marked increase, which she claimed resulted fromimproved fishing techniques, notably the introduction of snorkelling. Thisinterpretation is probably too simplistic, and it is likely that economicfactors played an Important role in determining the levels of harvests. Theprice of shell fell until 1959, roughly in line with the falling exports(Table 177). This implies not that the supply (i.e. the turtle population)was declining but that the market demand was falling. The year 1960 wasmarked by a doubling in the price of shell, and it is probable that thisstimulated the introduction of improved fishing techniques and increasedharvests, rather than the reverse causal relation inferred by Mortimer. Theprice of shell began to climb very steeply In 1970, without an apparent risein exports, and Mortimer (1984) interpreted this as evidence of a furtherfall in turtle populations. In recent years, the domestic tortoiseshellindustry has been using increasing quantities of shell and young turtles forstuffing, and in 1981, the export of shell was prohibited except by theparastatal company Seycom. This company had a policy of progressivelyreducing the price it paid for raw shell in an unsuccessful attempt tocontrol the harvest. In 1983, it stopped buying shell altogether (Mortimer,1984), although there was no decline in the harvest of Hawksbills declaredat the police stations (J. Mortimer in litt. . 31 December 1987).Domestic trade Turtles not used for local consumption are taken for salein Mah^. Some are transported live, having been kept in ponds whileawaiting the arrival of the boat, and others are slaughtered for thepreparation of the dried "quitouze", which is easier to transport. Thecapture of Green Turtles was totally prohibited in 1968, and from then until1976, few if any were sold in Mahe (Frazier, 1980a). In 1976, it wasrealised that the ban was unenforceable, and the killing and sale of maleC. mydas was permitted, females remaining protected. Mortimer (1984)reported that in 1981, only live male turtles were transported to Mah4 forsale, but that it was not always possible to determine the sex of meattransported as quitouze. Frazier (1980a) gave the price of meat in the late1960s in Mah4 as US$0.50 a kg or US$22-36 a turtle.The historical price of Hawksbill shell is given in Table 177. In recentyears there has been an attempt by the state company, Seycom, to manipulatethe price of shell and thus the harvest of turtles. From January 1981 toNovember 1982, Mortimer (1984) reported that the price paid for backshellwas Rs200 a kg, and Rs400 a kg for plastron and marginal scutes. Thecorresponding prices fell to RslOO and Rs200 between November 1982 andJanuary 1983, and then Rs50 and RslOO for the next two months, before, inFebruary 1983, Seycom stopped buying shell altogether (n.b. backshell isusually more valuable than that of the plastron).463