The first global survey of the illegal tortoiseshell trade in decades reveals that 40 countries around the world have active domestic markets, most of which are illegal. Based on research conducted by individual biologists and conservation organizations, the report conservatively estimates more than 45,000 individual products for sale worldwide since 2017. In-person research at shops found more than 17,000 products and online research showed nearly 30,000 products for sale, primarily in Indonesia.
The report, The Global Tortoiseshell Trade, pulls together new and recent research on this trade from around the world and shows that, despite efforts to eradicate these products, at least 10 countries have significant illegal markets. Another 30 or more have a minor trade and additional research is needed in seven countries to confirm the current level of trade.
Too Rare To Wear, a campaign of the US non-profit SEE Turtles that works with the tourism industry to end demand for these products, organized the report. The data were compiled from recent reports including new, previously unpublished research from eight countries, a nine-country survey for CITES published in 2019, 2017 Too Rare To Wear Report Endangered Souvenirs, and a number of reports from individual countries, news reports, first-person reports from biologists, and other sources.
Hawksbills continue to be harvested and traded illegally across international borders despite the wide availability of products made from modern-day synthetic materials and similar-looking alternatives… This widespread and persistent illegal trade of sea turtles is part of the global illegal wildlife trade, estimated to be worth the staggering US $20 billion annually, the fourth most lucrative illegal trade after drugs, human trafficking, and the arms trade, according to a 2012 report by WWF.
While trade has declined in many countries, it continues to be a leading threat to this species. Hawksbill sea turtles are listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) banned legal international trade in 1977, but several countries held a reservation to continue this trade. The final holdout country, Japan, dropped its reservation in 1994 but continues its legal domestic market today. There is evidence that at least some current sales likely come from illegal imports.
The addition of hawksbill turtles to CITES Appendix I appears to have helped some populations. Increases in nesting in Mexico and Panama roughly coincide with the end of the legal trade in 1994. Recent research by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, cited in this report, estimated that approximately 9 million turtles were traded between 1844 and 1992, decimating hawksbill populations around the world, with current estimates of adult females ranging from 15,000 to 25,000.
“Hawksbill sea turtles don’t receive the attention that elephants, rhinos, and tigers do in the coverage of illegal wildlife trafficking, but they remain one of the most widely traded of marine species,” said Brad Nahill, President of SEE Turtles and lead writer of the report. “The trade has devastating effects on reefs and tourism economies around the world.”
Hawksbills are considered by some to be the most beautiful of sea turtles owing to their beautiful shell, which helps camouflage them in coral reefs but also has led to their severe decline. Their shells sport colourful gold, brown, orange, and reddish scales (also called scutes) that can be polished and carved to make jewellery, trinkets, and other products.
The decline of the hawksbill around the world has had significant effects on ocean ecosystems. It is estimated that one turtle can consume more than 1,000 pounds of sponges per year, which helps facilitate coral growth by preventing sponges from overgrowing and suffocating reefs. Coral reefs provide a wide variety of environmental services including aiding fisheries, providing habitat for a wide variety of species, protecting coastal communities from storms, and as economically important tourism attractions. According to a report by Costanza, et al (1997), coral reefs generate an estimated $375 billion in economic benefits each year. This species is found in tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans.
Too Rare To Wear is a coalition of more than 150 conservation organizations and tourism companies working to end demand for tortoiseshell products. Too Rare To Wear conducts research into the trade, educates travellers how to recognize and avoid these products, and works to create new tools to support enforcement and outreach. The campaign has reached more than 10 million people worldwide and has published research including the 2017 report “Endangered Souvenirs.” For these efforts, SEE Turtles was awarded the 2019 Changemakers Award from the World Travel & Tourism Council, as well as the 2019 Skal Sustainable Tourism Award in the Marine and Coastal category.
The full report can be downloaded from HERE…
For more information about the campaign, please click here…
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media