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Monday, August 19, 2002.
The Jamaica Observer.
The Hawksbill turtle is said to be the most valuable of all sea turtles.CUBA
is proposing to resume trade in the shells of endangered Hawksbill marine
turtles, but the proposal is again meeting stiff opposition from international
environmental group, the Species Survival Network (SSN).
The SSN is expected to vote against the proposal at the upcoming convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting scheduled for
November 3 to 15 in Santiago, Chile.
Cuba hopes to export a 7.8 metric ton stockpile, consisting of thousands of
Hawksbill shells the country stockpiled between 1993 and 2002 from its annual
take of up to 500 Hawksbill turtles for domestic consumption, which is allowed
by environmental authorities.
However, SSN believes that allowing such a trade would increase the
opportunities for illegal trade of the turtles, which are already considered "critically
endangered".
"A legalised international trade in Hawksbill shells could undermine
national and regional conservation efforts and encourage other countries to
stockpile shells for future sale," chairman of the SSN, Juan Carlos Cantu,
said. "If legal trade increases illegal trade, as it did in the past, this
would further threaten depleted populations."
Cantu said that after the 1993 ban came into effect, the number of Hawksbill
nests in several Caribbean countries increased. "However, illegal sea
turtle shells is widespread and is limiting further recovery," Cantu added.
Characterised by its hooked, beak-like upper jaw, the Hawksbill turtle is
said to be the most valuable of all sea turtles. Just as the flesh of a Green
turtle is famous for its flavour, the Hawksbill is famous for the beautiful
artifacts it makes. Commercially termed as the tortoise shell, it is used in
Japan and Latin America to make bracelets, combs, ornamental pins and similar
articles.
According to the SSN -- an international coalition of 65 non-governmental
organisations committed to the promotion, enhancement and strict enforcement of
the CITES -- while the proposal did not specify to what country the shells would
be exported, "the most likely country is Japan", which imports the
shells to supply its strong domestic market for personal accessories.
But the environmental watchdog argues that Japan does not track trade in
finished products and does not regulate trade by wholesalers and retailers.
This latest opposition to Cuba's position came only a week after
Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles
(IAC) parties agreed to prohibit the capture, killing and domestic trade in sea
turtles and to support CITES listing that bans trade in the endangered species.
Last April, 830 participants from 73 countries passed a resolution opposing
the reopening of international trade in the Hawksbill shells at the 22nd Annual
Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation in Miami, Florida.
In 1997 and 2000, similar proposals were rejected by CITES. The latter was
defeated at a meeting in Nairobi after the proposal was heavily criticised by
Costa Rica, Barbados and the United States which questioned the scientific work
done by Cuba, claiming that the turtle had rebounded from its status as a
species that was facing extinction.
At the time, that proposal also faced strong objection from Jamaica's
Natural Resources Conservation Authority's (now National Environment and
Planning Agency -- NEPA) Sea Turtle Recovery Network, which said because of
their mobility, turtles found in Cuban waters belong to Jamaica and other
Caribbean territories.
That point was reiterated by the SSN.
"Cuba claims that the shells came from the Cuban population of
Hawksbills. However, there is no such population. Turtles captured and killed in
Cuba are part of a wider Caribbean population that nests in other countries
where most sub-populations are declining or depleted," Cantu said.
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