World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

AMERICAN SAMOAEXPLOITATIONCommodity Both eggs and meat of E. imbricata are consumed. C. mydas isalso eaten, though its nesting is largely confined to Rose Atoll which isuninhabited and is now a Wildlife Refuge. The shell of E. imbricata is usedlocally for jewellery and decoration (Anon., 1979b).Hunting intensity Turtle eggs are collected on Swains Island (Balazs,1982c) and the 50 or so local inhabitants are thought to have a legitimatesubsistence need for turtle products. The bulk of the human populationresides on Tutuila and Olosega, and it is estimated that about SO turtles ayear are caught there, although there is said to be little interest incatching turtles (Johannes, 1986).Hunting methods Johannes (1986) described the use of long nets to fishfor turtles: once a turtle was spotted by a lookout on shore a net would beset to seaward of it. The turtle would then be frightened into the net bymen beating the water with sticks. Turtles were traditionally consideredsacred in Samoa and, when caught, they had to be given to the chief fordistribution. Traditional customs are said to be being swamped by theintrusion of Western society (Johannes, 1986). Green Turtles are said to becaught on the nesting beaches at Swains Island (Anon., 1979b).Historical trends It is not known whether the declining turtle numbersreported by fishermen on Tutuila (Johannes, 1986) reflect declining catches.Domestic trade None known.International trade American Samoa is covered by the Americanratification of CITES (14 January 1974). CITES Annual Reports contain onlytwo records of trade in turtle products from American Samoa, both imports tothe USA in 1984, comprising one shell of C. mydas and eight carvings ofCheloniidae.The only indication of trade in raw turtle shell with American Samoacontained in the Customs reports consulted was the import to Japan of 42 kgof other tortoiseshell (i.e. not E. imbricata ) in 1978. Fijian Customsstatistics record the export of some worked turtle shell to American Samoain most years since 1970, and the values of these exports are given inTable 12.Table 12. Values (in Fijian $) of exports of worked tortoiseshell toAmerican Samoa recorded in Fijian Customs statisticsYear 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977F$ 1472 264 818 407 24 75 1490 7758Year 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985F$ 6253 3254 468LEGISLATIONUS Federal legislation (i.e. the Endangered Species Act, g.v.) applies inAmerican Samoa, and all sea turtles are protected. Enforcement is said tobe poor (Johannes, 1986).60