World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

SURINAMELEGISLATIONThe Game Law 195A.Prohibits the hunting, transport, trade, sale, gift, import orexport of sea turtles (Applies only to the northern [i.e. coastal]part of the country)Executive order under articles Nos. 1, 6, 11, 22 and 23 of the GameLaw of 1954 (GB 1954 No. 25), 1 October 1970.Applies only to northern portion of countryThese species and subspecies are protected (hunting and tradeprohibited) but their eggs may be collected during a certainperiod (1 March-31 May):C. carettaC. mydas mydasE. imbricata imbricataL. olivaceaD. coriaceaQuotas for collection of eggs by STINASU (employing local Amerindians)in the Galibi Nature Reserve are set annually. The eggs are sold alongthe streets by the Foundation for Nature Preservation (STINASU).November 1982 amendments to the above extended the reach of the law toinclude the whole country.Suriname became a Party to CITES on 17 November 1980, but has reservationsfor C. mydas and D. coriacea .RANCHING/ HATCHERIESMany of the nests are laid on parts of the beach inundated by the tide orsubject to erosion. Since 1964, there has been a policy of removing theeggs from these nests and either taking them to central hatcheries or, morerecently, reburying them in safer areas higher up the beach. The numbers ofeggs moved in this way, and the percentage hatching success are shown inTable 194.In 1977, an experimental ranching project was started, using a proportion ofthe hatchlings from the relocated eggs. The numbers of hatchlings retainedare shown in Table 194. Various rearing techniques were investigated,including floating cages and tanks on shore, but the system that waseventually adopted comprised a mud sided creek in the bank of a tidal river,fenced off with bamboo partitions and having the water level controlled by asluice. The scheme was seen chiefly as a conservation measure, as aproportion of the young turtles were to be released after head- start ing forone or two years. The remaining stock was to be reared for three or fouryears for the production of meat, shell, oil and leather for export. Thefood for the turtle ranch was all imported and was thus not only expensivebut also a drain on the country's foreign exchange reserves. It was hopedthat exports of turtle products would to some extent compensate for the needto import food, and there were plans to manufacture the food in Surinameitself (5000 head started 8 12 month old C. mydas were released in 1984(Pritchard, 1987b). No hatchlings have been taken for the ranch since 1984(Mohadin in lUj, , 1988).506