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Marine Turtle Newsletter 24:10-15, © 1983

Worldwide Trade in Wild Sea Turtle Products: An Update

David Mack
TRAFFIC (U.S.A.), 1601 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington D.C., 20009, U.S.A.

Three years ago, TRAFFIC (U.S.A.) and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Unit (formerly TRAFFIC (International)) analyzed the worldwide trade in sea turtle products for the World Conference on Sea Turtle Conservation (Mack, et al., 1982). Many attending the conference were surprised to learn the extent and volume of this trade. A statement in the Sea Turtle Conservation Strategy (STCS, 1979:5), best illustrates what was the general consensus of those who attended the conference "As long as sea turtles remain endangered, the ending of commercial exploitation of all sea turtle products is a long-range goal or ideal of the conservation strategy." While people disagree about the need to farm or ranch sea turtles, almost everyone agrees that taking wild adult and juvenile turtles for commercial trade is unwarranted. Yet, the killing continues.

Commercial trade in tortoiseshell, stuffed turtles, sea turtle meat, and turtle skins has declined worldwide since CITES came into force in 1975. Since May 1977, the three major species exploited for trade - green, hawksbill, and olive ridley turtles - were listed on Appendix I which prohibits commercial trade under most circumstances. As of January 1983, 78 countries are party to CITES and all 7 species of marine turtles are on Appendix I. Unfortunately, 4 countries took "reservations" (Table 1) which allow them to commercially trade in wild sea turtle products.

Table 1. CITES Parties with Reservations on Sea Turtles

The trade problem, however, is not restricted to just these reserving countries. Several CITES party and non-party countries continue to trade in wild turtle products despite their Appendix I listing. And, turtle products are sold locally in many countries throughout the tropics. While the selling of turtle products in markets is not controlled under CITES, tourists purchase these souvenirs and bring them back to their homelands where they are often seized. Turtle products (stuffed turtles, turtle cream, tortoiseshell jewelry, polished shells) are by far the items most frequently seized from tourists returning to the United States.

Leather from turtles, a relatively new addition to the reptile-leather industry, has gained popularity in many parts of the world as more traditional leather sources such as crocodilian skins became more scarce. "The present leather trade constitutes an intolerable drain on the sea turtle populations, especially those of Lepidochelys olivacea and Chelonia mydas. Current world trade should be terminated and allmeasures taken to achieve this end" (STCS, 1979:5-6).

The two largest exporters of turtle skins during the 1970's were Mexico and Ecuador (Mack, et al., 1982), and perhaps the single most important event relating to this trade since the 1979 conference was Ecuador's ban on sea turtle product exports beginning in June of 1981. From 1970 to 1977, between 132,000 and 147,000 adult olive ridley turtles were killed in Ecuador for the skin trade (Green and Ortiz, 1982). During the next 4 years, 1978 to 1981, Ecuador exported 579,000 kg of skins, representing an additional 290,000 to 320,000 turtles. Most of these skins were exported to Japan and Italy (Hurtado, 1981).

Mexico has also taken large numbers of olive ridleys from the eastern Pacific coast for both skin and meat. According to Antonio Suarez, former owner of the largest sea turtle processing plants in Mexico, an estimated 1.4 million olive ridleys were killed on the beaches of Oaxaca, Michoacan, and Jalisco between 1966 and 1977 (Mack, et al., 1982). In 1981, Suarez sold his companies to Propemex, a government-owned company, and unfortunately the slaughter continues today (Cahill, 1982). During the 1981/82 season, the olive ridley quota in Oaxaca was increased 72% over the previous year allowing 69,000 turtles to be killed; by December 1981, 56,000 turtles had been killed which is the largest take in Oaxaca since 1978 (K. Cliffton, pers. comm.).

Since 1979, other countries have also traded in sea turtle skins. Based on their published government statistics, Japan appears to be the major importer, and many Asian countries are involved in the export of turtle skin and leather (Table 2). The Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and Pakistan are the major exporters of turtle skins and leather from Asia. It is likely that all turtle skins in trade are from sea turtles taken directly from the wild with the possible exception of those exported from the Cayman Islands which are probably from the Cayman Turtle Farm.

The demand for turtle leather is a relatively new trade, but the shell of the animal has been prized for centuries. For that reason, this trade needs to be addressed in a slightly different manner. "The trade in tortoise shell should cease in those countries where it has no special traditional cultural significance. Those countries where tortoise shell has a cultural value (e.g., in marriage ceremonies) should be encouraged to preserve and recycle antique supplies, to promote the use of synthetic substances, and with all dispatch to phase out the importation of new material" (STCS, 1979:6).

Based on published government statistics, worldwide trade in tortoise shell totalled 249,000 kg in 1976; 318,000 kg in 1977; and 403,000 kg in 1978 (Mack, et al., 1982). At the time TRAFFIC produced its report on the sea turtle product trade, it was assumed that all tortoiseshell was from sea turtles, especially the hawksbill. It has recently been brought to our attention that shell from other turtles may also be included in the international customs category, "tortoiseshell" (C. Huxley, pers. comm.). The extent of this practice is unknown, and thus the total volume of raw tortoiseshell trade may be overestimated.

Table 2. Japanese imports of Turtle Skin and Leather

*CITES party or CITES party-dependent.

In Japan, however, it is probable that all imported tortoiseshell is indeed from sea turtles. Following discussions with various people, TRAFFIC (Japan) concludes that the specific international customs category Bekko (Japanese for tortoiseshell), "with very little exception, if at all, does represent hawksbill" (T. Milliken, in litt., 1982). Between 1960 and 1981, almost 820,000 kg of Bekko was imported by Japan alone. This represents between 410,000 to 820,000 hawksbill turtles based on minimum (1.0 kg) and maximum (2.0 kg) weight estimates of carapace, plastron, and marginal scales of individual hawksbills imported by Japan (E. Roet, in prep.). Japan joined CITES in 1980 and took a reservation on three Appendix I species of marine turtles (Table 1). It still imports large volumes of raw hawksbill tortoiseshell (Table 3), even though in 1980, Japan imposed an annual import quota of 30,000 kg (T. Milliken, in litt., 1982).

General trends show that Asia and the New world account for most of the tortoiseshell imported by Japan. The largest exporters are the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania, Panama, Cuba, Haiti, and the Cayman Islands. All are CITES parties with the exception of Cuba and Haiti. Today, the hawksbill probably is most heavily exploited in the Caribbean. The Caribbean accounted for about 25 percent of all tortoiseshell imported by Japan in the 1970's. This amount rose to almost 40% in 1980 and 1981 (Meylan and Mack, in press). Bekko imported by Japan from the Cayman Islands does not appear to be from the Cayman Turtle Farm as green turtle shell imports are listed in a separate category of Japan's published statistics (TRAFFIC (U.S.A.), unpublished data).

Table 3. Japanese imports of Raw Bekko (Tortoiseshell)

*CITES party or CITES party-dependent.

Populations of hawksbill may no longer exist in the Cayman Islands, but Cayman Island fishermen buy tortoiseshell from other countries (A. Carr, pers. comm.). Japanese tortoiseshell dealers claim that they import hawksbill shell from the Cayman Islands and Cuba; the hawksbill shell from Cuba is reportedly the most expensive in the region and sold by the Cuban government (T. Milliken, in litt., 1982).

Perhaps the most wasteful killing of turtles is for stuffed souvenirs. Juveniles, especially young hawksbills, are taken in large numbers. "This totally unnecessary luxury trade is having a serious impact on populations of Eretmochelys imbricata. It should cease and all measures should be taken to achieve this end" (STCS, 1979.6).

Stuffing of turtles for the tourist industry and commercial trade proliferates today. Japan's published government statistics show that they imported 598,000 kg of worked Bekko (includes mostly stuffed hawksbill turtles) between 1962 and 1981 (T. Milliken, in litt., 1982). This represents between 604,000 and 777,000 juvenile hawksbill turtles based on a stuffed turtle weighing an average of .77 kg to .99 kg (E. Roet, in prep.). Indonesia has been the major exporter of worked tortoiseshell to Japan. Presently, there is no quota for imports of worked tortoiseshell (T. Milliken, in litt., 1982). Worked tortoiseshell imports by Japan from 1979 and 1981 are listed in Table 4.

Table 4. Japanese Imports of Worked Bekko (Tortoiseshell)

*CITES party or CITES party-dependent.

In addition to worked Bekko (mainly stuffed hawksbill), Japan also imports large volumes of stuffed green turtles (E. Roet, in prep.). Between 1979 and 1981, Japan imported an additional 253,000 kg of worked tortoiseshell (Japan's published statistics) from other species of marine turtles (TRAFFIC (U.S.A.), unpublished data). Three-fourths of the total came from Indonesia.

As mentioned earlier, several CITES parties who did not take reservations on sea turtles are still commercially trading in their products. Indonesia alone (a CITES member since March 1979), provides Japan with the largest volume of stuffed turtles (hawksbill and green) and with the second largest volume of skins. Along with the Philippines, Indonesia was also the major exporter of raw hawksbill shell from Asia in 1981. The Philippines joined CITES in 1981, and it may be too early to judge their implementation of the convention. The African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, and the Seychelles, all CITES parties since at least February 1980, still appear to export large amounts of raw hawksbill shell to Japan. The shell may he leaving these countries without proper permits or the knowledge of the governments. The Caribbean countries of Panama, the Cayman Islands (a dependent of the United Kingdom), Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Bahamas, all CITES parties since at least September 1979, exported raw hawksbill shell to Japan in 1981.

Overall, CITES has helped reduce commercial trade in sea turtle products. Former major consumers and exporters such as the United States, West Germany, United Kingdom, Thailand, India, Malaysia, and Ecuador (Mack, et al., 1982), do not appear to be trading in wild turtle products. The next meeting of the CITES parties in Botswana in April 1983, will address sea turtle ranching, farming, and the souvenir trade. And, the continuing commercial trade in wild sea turtle products should also be addressed as CITES is committed to a strong implementation of the convention with respect to Appendix I species.

TRAFFIC (U.S.A.), the trade monitoring program of the World Wildlife Fund-U.S., is interested in gathering further information on trade of wild sea turtle products and the number of animals taken for this trade. Please send information to TRAFFIC (U.S.A.), 1601 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington D.C., 20009, U.S.A.

Cahill, T. 1982. The shame of Escobilla, part II: on the trail of Antonio Suárez. Outside Magazine. November 1982.

Green, D. and Ortiz-Crespo, F. 1982. Status of sea turtle populations in the Central Eastern Pacific. Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles. K. Bjorndal (ed.), Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 221-234.

Hurtado, M. 1981. The ban on the exportation of turtle skin from Ecuador. Instituto Nacional de Pesca Boletin Informativo, 2:6-10.

Mack, D., Duplaix, N. and Wells, S. 1982. Sea turtles, animals of divisible parts: international trade in sea turtle products. Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles. K. Bjorndal (ed.). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 545-563.

Meylan, A. and Mack, D. In press. Sea turtles of the West Indies - a vanishing resource. Trinidad Naturalist Magazine.

Roet, E. in prep. Trade in sea turtle products from Indonesia and Japan. to be published by the Center for Environmental Education, Washington D.C.

Sea Turtle Conservation Strategy. 1979. Drafted at the World Conference on Sea Turtle Conservation, November 1979.