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Marine Turtle Newsletter 68:20-22, © 1995

New Hunting Regulations in Chile Protect Sea Turtles for the First Time

Jose Luis Brito Monter
Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales y Arqueologia de San Antonio,
Casilla 93 Llo-Lleo, San Antonio, Chile

Sea turtles have been documented to occur in Chile since 1782. Today these are, in order of abundance, the leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea; East Pacific green turtle (black turtle), Chelonia mydas agassizi; olive ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea; and loggerhead, Caretta caretta. A significant amount of mortality occurs incidental to pelagic fishing enterprises using gill nets to fish for swordfish (Xiphias gladius). This especially affects leatherback populations (Frazier and Brito 1990; Brito 1994).

Sea turtles were not protected under national law until 1992, but they have been protected internationally for many years due to their listing in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Chile implements CITES through the Minister of Foreign Relations' Supreme Decree No. 141 (25 May 1975) and Appendices I and II of the Treaty for the Convention of Migratory Wildlife Species through the Minister of Foreign Relations' Supreme Decree No. 868 (12 December 1978). Until recently, however, no legal measures against capture, transport and trade were offered under either the old Ley de Caza (Hunting Law) (Law No. 4.601, 1 July 1929) or the old Ley de Pesca (Fisheries Law) (DFL No. 34, 12 March 1931), nor was there mention of sea turtle protection in the more recent Ley de Pesca y Acuicultura (Law of Fisheries and Aquaculture) (D.S. No. 18.755 of 23 December 1989), as amended.

Legal authorities in Chile did not provide national protection for sea turtles for the reason that, "Chelonids in our country are erratic specimens and have not been and are not exploitable resources" (Cardenas and Stutzin 1985). These are clearly not valid justifications, because sea turtle populations are highly migratory and unseparable geographically. Being a shared resource, their management and conservation is of international interest. Degradation of habitats and/or capture at any point throughout a species' distribution has a direct impact on global populations. This is especially important because Chilean waters represent, at least for D. coriacea and C. m. agassizi, the southern geographical limits of their natural distribution (Brito 1994). For this reason, various researchers and non-governmental organizations, such as Comité Nacional Pro-Defensa de la Fauna y Flora (CODEFF-CHILE), began soliciting authorities a few years ago for a change in the obsolete Ley de Caza.

As a result, a new Regulation (Diario Oficial de Republica de Chile, 9 May 1993:7-10) was promulgated under the Ley de Caza which protects sea turtles for the first time in Chile's history. Title I, Article 2 states, "All vertebrate animals shall be protected by a Veda de Conservación (moratorium on hunting) for a period of 20 years" (there are a few exceptions, such as those species deemed harmful or dangerous, as well as species which have been introduced to Chile). The legal definition of "moratorium on hunting" under this regulation is a "total ban on hunting during a specified number of years." Title XI (General Dispositions Article 40) states, "The National Fisheries Service may authorize the capture of the following wild animal species which inhabit the marine environment, without violating Fisheries and Aquaculture Law 18.892, or international conservation treaties ratified for the protection of these species." The list includes all sea turtle species, both Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae. "Capture", according to the regulation, is "the take/seizure of wild animals which does not constitute hunting."

Now it is necessary to propose effective means of law enforcement and to train personnel. Over all, the few specialists in Chile that work with these marvelous marine reptiles should be attentive so that the law will be applied consistently. Before the end of the 20-year period, conservation lobbies should, if necessary, propose to continue the moratorium. We should now be aware in Chile that the incidental capture and mortality in drift nets set for swordfish is unknown. Exact quantities of sea turtles and cetaceans which drown as a result of incidental capture in this fishery should be established. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that this interaction is significant or certainly dangerous for some marine vertebrate species.

Brito, J. L. 1994. Las tortugas marinas en Chile: su situacion actual, p.137-138. In: XIV Jornadas de Ciencias del Mar / I Jornada de Salmonicultura, 23-25 de Mayo de 1994, Puerto Montt, Chile (Resumen).

Cardenas, J. C. and M. Stutzin. 1985. Sea turtles in Chilean waters: a conservation problem. Informe Tecnico No. 4, Comité Nacional Pro-Defensa de la Fauna y Flora (CODEFF- CHILE). 7 pp.

Frazier, J. and J. L. Brito. 1990. Incidental capture of marine turtles by the swordfish fishery at San Antonio, Chile. Marine Turtle Newsletter 49:8-13.