Marine Turtle Newsletter 59:19-23, © 1992
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Marine Turtle Newsletter 59:19-23, © 1992
DISAPPOINTING TED RULING-Under existing U. S. law, turtle excluder devices (TEDs) are not required in shrimp trawl nets in southeastern U. S. Atlantic waters from 1 September through 30 April. Expansion of the TED regulations is a priority one task in the federal government's recovery plans for Kemp's ridley, green, and loggerhead sea turtles. All five species of sea turtle occurring in U. S. waters are listed as either Endangered or Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. On 1 September, the U. S. National Marine Fisheries Service filed an "interim final rule" that ignored widespread public and scientific support for the use of TEDs in all U. S. waters and at all times of the year and ruled that TEDs need only be used by vessels larger than 25 feet operating in offshore waters in the U. S. Atlantic Ocean. Smaller vessels offshore and all vessels inshore may comply either by using TEDs or tow times less than 90 minutes (less than 75 minutes as of 1 November). Source: adapted from a Center for Marine Conservation Press Release, 2 September 1992.
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FOUR MEN FINED FOR KILLING TURTLES-Four men who were held by Game Wardens in the act of slaughtering leatherback turtles in the prohibited area at Fishing Pond Bay [Trinidad] were on Wednesday [29 April 1992] fined a total of $3000 when they appeared before a Magistrate for the offence. Mohan Baal, of St. Augustine and Basdeo Rudy, 25, of Spring Village, Curepe, were both fined $1000, while Roger Gobin, 19, and Anil Jagdeo, 17, both of Spring Village, Curepe, were fined $500. The four accused were held by wardens from the Wildlife Section of the Forestry Division. Source: Express® (Trinidad), 4 May 1992; submitted by Lori Lee Lum (Institute of Marine Affairs, Trinidad), who wrote: "While actual instances of persons being charged for turtle offences in Trinidad are few, this is not to say that the crimes are not being committed, just that catching the perpetrators in the act has proven difficult. Thus, it is a newsworthy item when persons are caught and fined, especially so during the official Closed Hunting Season, 1 March to 30 September of every year."
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CITES HAS 115 PARTIES-Djibouti (effective 7 May 1992), Czechoslovakia (effective 28 May 1992), and Equatorial Guinea (effective 10 June 1992) are the newest CITES [Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora] Parties, bringing the total number of Parties to 115. Source: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service CITES Update No. 13, May 1992.
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CAPTIVE BREEDING-For two weeks in March, delegates from 107 nations, non-governmental observers, and the press met in Kyoto, Japan for the 1992 Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). [A] captive breeding resolution, introduced by Canada, would have streamlined the process for registering facilities that introduce species protected by Appendix I into the world market through captive breeding. As the regulations currently stand, captive breeding registration requires close scrutiny by the Parties, with support of two-thirds of those voting, to allow commercial trade from these operations. As originally submitted, the resolution would have allowed member nations to set up breeding facilities for endangered Appendix I species, such as sea turtles, with just the concurrence of the CITES Secretariat. Appendix I species, which are prohibited from trade, would thus be allowed into international commerce without the review of the CITES Parties. To prevent the registration of inappropriate facilities, the resolution was rewritten so that the objection of one country to a registration would require approval by a two-thirds majority of Parties. Source: excerpted from Center for Marine Conservation Marine Conservation News, 1992, 4(2):7.
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CRUISE SHIPS STILL DUMPING-The Washington-based Center for Marine Conservation (CMC) reports that 21 cruise lines are not abiding by a worldwide plastics dumping ban in effect since 1988. The CMC bases its allegations on identifiable plastic litter-such as shampoo bottles and beverage cups that bear cruise line names or logos-found washed ashore during beach cleanups in 32 U. S. states and 12 countries. The top four offenders-Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Holland America, and Carnival-account for 65% of cruise line plastic products picked up by volunteers. Source: World Watch, 1992, 5(3):6.
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SHARJAH PROTECTS TURTLES-The municipality in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, has issued a decree prohibiting the catching and selling of sea turtles. Source: Gulf News, 22 March 1992 [as reported in TRAFFIC Bulletin, 1992, 13(1):8].
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STUFFED GREEN TURTLES SEIZED-On 12 March 1992, officers of the State Forestry Corps seized 29 stuffed green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at Naples harbour [in Italy]. The sea turtles were in a shipment containing shells, sharks' teeth and other wildlife items imported from the Philippines by a Neapolitan dealer in marine curios. If convicted, the importer faces sentencing under Italy's new legislation. Source: TRAFFIC Bulletin, 1992, 13(1):34.
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FIRST LEATHERBACK NEST REPORTED IN FLORIDA PARK-Park officers at Anastasia State Recreation Area near St. Augustine, Florida, were pleasantly surprised when they discovered a group of hatchling leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) scurrying across the sand to the ocean in August 1991. This was the first recorded nest of the giant leatherback sea turtle in the park since biologists began collecting data in 1981. The rare occurrence represents one of the northernmost nesting records in the Western Atlantic for the species. Further north were five nests recorded on South Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in 1984 and 1985 and one 1981 nest on Blackbeard Island, Georgia. [N.B. also in 1981, a leatherback nested on Cumberland Island, Georgia] Source: Florida Department of Natural Resources' Resource Management Notes, October 1991 [as reported in Caribbean Conservation Corporation's Turtle Log, Spring 1992].
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MAURITIUS ENFORCES TURTLE LAWS-The Fisheries Protection Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture in Mauritius seized 150 kg of illegally caught fish and 4 marine turtles from Hassenjee Cold Storage in Port Louis on 20 November 1991. Laws protecting fish and turtles had previously been poorly enforced but now the Unit is intent on investigating traders. Source: L'Express (Port Louis), 20 November 1991 [as reported in Oryx, 1992, 26(3): 133].
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ARMY PERSONNEL ACCUSED OF POACHING TURTLES-According to reports from fishermen and other local people, army personnel used a boat owned by a senior army officer to catch 20 [sea] turtles off Mahe in the Seychelles on 9 January [1992]. The police were informed but later said they had no record of the incident. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries imposed a total ban on turtle captures on 6 December 1990 and fishermen, who say they had witnessed similar violations before, say they will not now respect the ban. Source: Regar (Mahe, Seychelles), 21 February 1992 [as reported in Oryx, 1992, 26 (3):133].
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TURTLES CLOSE GREEK AIRPORT-The [British] Tour Operators' Study Group (TOSG), the trade association to which most big operators belong, is unhappy at the prospect of Zakynthos [Greece] airport being closed at night during the breeding season of the endangered loggerhead turtle. The projected shutdown, from summer 1993, is a triumph of conservation over profit. It seems that, upon emerging from their eggs in the sand of Lagana Bay, the baby loggerheads are confused by the nearby airport lights and, instead of scampering to the safety of the sea, they head inland to almost certain death. So the Greeks have decided to turn off the lights. The TOSG has argued that banning night-flights to Zakynthos would spell chaos and lead to a 50% reduction in tourist arrivals there. But surely what it all boiled down to, the Greeks argued, was that they were being asked to keep their airports open at night because the British weren't prepared to open theirs. Allow night-flights into Gatwick, Luton and Manchester and schedules could be rejuggled, thus solving the problem. Everyone would have their holidays and the turtles would be saved. The TOSG people, however, remained adamant that if the Greeks wanted tourists, they shouldn't ban night flights. The man from Dan-Air [even suggested] that they could simply pay local fishermen to sit offshore during the hatching season with lights trained on the water to encourage the turtles to move in the right direction. Source: The Sunday Times (England), 28 June 1992.
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TURTLE RESEARCH IN OMAN-Oman is to begin soon a comprehensive research study on the feeding habits of turtles throughout their entire life cycle. Researchers from the Marine Science and Fisheries Center and Sultan Qaboos University will conduct the study, which calls for experiments on green turtles, one of two major species of the flippered creatures existing in the country. Researchers hope to extend the study to loggerheads and three other types of turtles found in Oman, the ridley, the leatherback, and the hawksbill. The study is being undertaken as a measure to protect the reptiles. Source: Unclassified Memo, U. S. Department of State, July 1992.
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MEXICO DONATES SEA TURTLE HATCHLINGS-On 14 July, a total of 1,994 Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings were donated by the Mexican Government to the U. S. Government. The hatchlings were transported from the primary nesting beach at Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico to Brownsville, Texas, via U. S. Coast Guard helicopter; then from Brownsville to Galveston via Coast Guard Falcon jet. U. S. Coast Guard personnel and aircraft based at the Corpus Christi Air Station carried out the mission. Officials present at Rancho Nuevo for the occasion represented the Departamento de Pesca, Instituto Nacional de la Pesca, Secretaria de Desarrollo Urbano y Ecologia, Centro Regional Investigaciones Pesqueras, and other agencies. Participants in the transfer included representatives of the Gladys Porter Zoo and the [U. S. National Marine Fisheries Service] Southeast Fisheries Science Center's Galveston Laboratory. National Geographic magazine and Mexican news media were at the beach to document the occasion. The hatchlings arrived at the Galveston Laboratory alive and in good condition for the 15th year of the Kemp's ridley head-start experiment. They will be reared in captivity for 9-11 months, then multi-tagged and released into the Gulf of Mexico. Source: U. S. National Marine Fisheries Service Weekly Report for July 24, 1992.
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DRIFTNET AGREEMENTS CONCLUDED-On July 20, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), representing the interests of the United States, and the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA), representing the interests of Taiwan, agreed to an extension of the regulatory, enforcement, and information gathering programs of the bilateral high seas driftnet agreement that expired June 30. The extension took effect immediately and will be in force through December 31, 1992, when the moratorium on high seas driftnet fishing takes effect as mandated by UN General Assembly Resolution 46/215. The AIT-CCNAA agreement is the last of three regulatory, enforcement, and information gathering programs to be extended. On June 16, 1992, an exchange of letters completed the extension of those U.S.-Japanese programs for the high seas squid and large-mesh Japanese driftnet fisheries. The extension of similar U.S.-Republic of Korea bilateral programs was effected June 24. All three agreements, inter alia, restrict the time and area of driftnet vessel operation, limit the number of vessels that may participate in the fishery, require satellite transmitters for vessels participating in the fishery, provide for the transmission of catch and effort data to the United States, and allow for boardings and inspections by U. S. and flag state authorities. Source: U. S. National Marine Fisheries Service Weekly Report for July 24, 1992.
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SCUBA DIVERS ASSIST IN TURTLE RESEARCH -The staff of the Atlantis Reef Divers' has joined forces with the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct extensive sea turtle research off the coast of world-famous Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. Atlantis Reef Divers offers logistical support for the undertaking, which is being conducted by George Balazs, a zoologist and leader of the Marine Turtle Research Program. The turtles are listed by the United States as endangered species, and the overall objective of the project is to promote the long-term conservation and recovery of sea turtles in the Waikiki region. To date, 19 turtles have been spotted and tagged by the researchers. Source: excerpted from Underwater USA, August 1992.