California Turtle and Tortoise Club
TURTLE ACTION NEWS
March to April 1998
National Marine Fisheries Service To Gather Information On Possible Nighttime Closures Of Shrimp Fishing In the Atlantic Ocean
4/30/98 On April 30, 1998, the (U.S.) National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office issued the following fishery bulletin announcing a request for information and notice of public hearings. It is anticipated that this proposed closure would reduce the accidental capture of sea turtles by shrimpers and therefore benefit these endangered turtles.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has scheduled four public meetings in southeastern states to discuss possible nighttime closures of shrimp fishing in the Atlantic Ocean at night. Many fishermen, fishery organizations, and the Georgia and South Carolina Departments of Natural Resources have recommended that NMFS consider a closure of Federal waters offshore of Georgia and South Carolina to shrimping at night. Georgia and South Carolina state waters are currently closed at night, and commenters believed that a nighttime closure of Federal waters would reduce the concentration and total amount of fishing effort, and consequently would reduce lethal sea turtle captures. Nighttime closures of shrimp fishing may have additional effects -- and possible benefits -- on coordinated state-Federal enforcement of conservation laws, conservation of certain shrimp stocks, and the distribution of fishing effort and associated operating costs.
NMFS is soliciting additional information from fishermen and other interested parties regarding the fishery management and sea turtle conservation benefits of closing all or some portion of Federal and state waters, off some or all of the South Atlantic states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) to shrimp trawling at night. No new rule has been proposed, and the four public meetings are strictly to gather information. In particular, NMFS wishes to receive quantitative data on the extent of fishery effort reduction that would be achieved under various closure schemes. Information on the impacts, positive and negative, on affected fishermen as well as the conservation of marine turtles is also specifically requested.
The hearings are scheduled as follows:
May 11, 1998 at 7 p.m., Bolivia, NC at the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, Brunswick County Government Center, Agriculture Building (Meeting Room), 25 Referendum Drive, Bolivia, NC 28422.
May 12, 1998 at 7 p.m., Charleston, SC at the South Carolina Marine Resources Research Institute (Auditorium), 217 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412
May 13, 1998 at 7 p.m., Brunswick, GA at the University of Georgia Marine Extension Service Office (Conference room), 715 Bay Street, Brunswick, GA 31520 May 14, 1998 at 7 p.m., Atlantic Beach, FL
at the Mayport Elementary School (Cafeteria), 2753 Shangri-La Drive, Atlantic Beach, FL 32233
Written comments will also be accepted, and should be sent to:
Chief, Endangered Species Division
Office of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.
World Trade Organization Issues Final Ruling Against U.S. Ban On Import of Turtle-Unsafe Shrimp
4/6/98 The Los Angeles Times, Monday April 6, reported today that the three-man World Trade Organization panel has issued its final ruling against the U.S. ban on the importation of shrimp from countries that do not require use of Turtle Excluder Devices. These devices, known as TEDs, are credited with saving the lives of thousands of sea turtles that otherwise would have drowned in shrimpers nets.
The widely expected decision (see earlier story) represents a victory for Thailand, Malaysia, India and Pakistan, which challenged the U.S. ban in a case before the Geneva-based organization. These four nations challenged the U.S. ban in the WTO court, claiming that the U.S. ban was being applied in a discriminatory manner and was an unfair trade barrier.
Although the U.S. was expected to appeal this ruling, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Charlene Barshefsky, has refused to commit to an appeal of the ruling. Your help is needed to influence the USTR to do the right thing and appeal this deadly ruling.
Please call the U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky today at (202) 395-6890 or send a message from the USTR Homepage and demand that the U.S. appeal the WTO ruling. Tell her that the US should withdraw from the WTO because of its blatant disregard for environmental protection.
Visit the Earth Island Institute site to view a copy of the WTO report.
California Fish & Game Commission Says No to Ban on Import of Live Turtles for Food
4/3/98 In a long anticipated vote, the California Fish and Game Commission voted 4 to 0 on Wednesday April 1, not to ban the importation of live "food" turtles and bullfrogs into the state. The Commission cited the lack of evidence that these food trade turtles and frogs were a significant environmental problem. Instead, the Commission opted to toughen existing regulations to deal with anecdotal reports that these animals were being illegally introduced into California waters.
The Commission proposed that signs be posted at all food markets that sell live turtles and frogs noting that it is illegal to sell them live to customers and that they must be slaughtered on the premises before being sold. Sadly, this move will also make it impossible for the public to rescue these animals from the butcher's block to keep as pets.
The Commission says it will monitor and evaluate the regulations over the next six months.
California Fish and Game Commission to Vote on Ban on Import of Live Turtles for Food
3/28/98 At its April 1, Long Beach meeting, California Fish & Game Commission is scheduled to vote on an amendment to the State Fish & Game Code "to prohibit the importation of live turtles and bullfrogs for food".
The Commission has received public testimony that turtles and bullfrogs imported for food under the provisions of importation permits issued by the Department:
despite regulations which prohibit their release to the wild, are often removed alive from markets and introduced to the waters of the State, creating a risk of damage to native wildlife populations. are held under cruel conditions: and are butchered using cruel methods. Despite delaying the vote on several prior occasions, in recent weeks the Commission seemed disposed to approve the amendment. However, the measure is being actively opposed by the California Trade and Commerce Agency (on behalf of the merchants and traders involved in the current trade), Assemblyman Mike Honda who has introduced AB 2227 which says "Fish & Game may not adopt regulations that prohibit the importation of live turtles and bullfrogs into the state for food", and lately by the California Department of Fish & Game itself. Given the opposition from the Department, the fate of the amendment is therefore now in jeopardy.
In a memo to the Commission, Jacqueline Schafer, Director of California Department of Fish & Game, raises the probable lack of authority of the Commission to deal with "issues surrounding market conditions"; cites the lack of data on the frequency with which releases occur; and claims that the proposed ban would be ineffective since the only species covered are ones that currently exist in the wild. In addition, she cites the continued sale of these species by the pet industry.
According to Marshall Thompson, co-founder of American Tortoise Rescue which has joined Action for Animals and other concerned animal welfare groups to support the proposed ban, turtles such as the Florida softshell and red-eared slider are favored market foods. They are butchered with no concern about their pain -- sometimes their shells are cut from their bodies while they are still alive. In these markets, dozens of turtles and frogs are piled in dirty buckets with little or no water, food or shade. The ones on the bottom are often crushed, dying or dead. In addition, merchants openly violate federal laws prohibiting the taking and holding of more than five spiny softshells at one time.
Despite the opposition, Thompson remains optimistic. "We look forward to a positive vote by Fish & Game on the 1st, to strict enforcement of the existing laws, an immediate end to the sale of all turtles as food and a resolution of this troubling issue," says Thompson. "There is no justification, legal or moral, for live animal markets to be exempt from anti-cruelty laws."
World Trade Organization Rules Against Sea Turtle Conservation
3/14/98 A World Trade Organization (WTO) hearing panel sitting in Geneva, Switzerland has sided with Thailand, Malaysia, India and Pakistan in their contention that U.S. efforts to protect endangered sea turtles are inconsistent with global trade rules. The preliminary ruling by the three-member WTO panel will be appealed by US Officials.
The dispute involves a ban imposed by the United States in 1996 on the sale of shrimp caught in nets that are not equipped with turtle excluder devices. Turtle excluder devices (TEDs) allow sea turtles to escape and avoid drowning if they get trapped in trawl nets. Shrimp fishermen in the United States are required to use TEDs on their trawl nets to prevent turtle drownings. Drowning in nets is the largest cause of sea-turtle deaths and was a major contributor to the near extinction of the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle.
The United States argued that the trade ban was essential to protect sea turtles because they are threatened with extinction and other measures do not provide sufficient protection. Some environmentalists contend that failure to equip shrimp nets with TEDs results in the death of 150,000 sea turtles a year.
Thailand, Malaysia, India and Pakistan challenged the U.S. ban on unsafe shrimp claiming it represents an unfair trade barrier that is not legal under WTO rules arguing that the ban was being applied in a discriminatory manner and was really a disguised trade barrier. This despite ample US government evidence that TEDs use can actually improve shrimp catch efficiency as well as save endangered species.
Florida Beaches, Sea Turtles Win Decisive Victory In Court
3/12/98 Caribbean Conservation Corporation News Release - Florida beaches and federal taxpayers were granted a reprieve this week from unwise development subsides that would destroy critical habitats for sea turtles and other wildlife. The District Court for the District of Columbia decision scuttled and eleventh-hour, backdoor bid by Congress and the Department of Interior to open-up critical Florida beachfront property to taxpayer funded development. The Court sided with the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC), Coast Alliance and Center for Marine Conservation by invalidating an attempt to remove certain Florida beaches from the protective Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS). The CBRS prohibits taxpayer-backed subsidies, such as federal flood insurance, for private development in ecologically critical areas such as barrier islands.
CCC, CMC and the other groups filed a federal lawsuit in June of 1997 against the U.S. Department of Interior in an effort to block legislation severely weakening the CBRS. The legislation, originally filed in Congress as H.R. 2100, was defeated on its own merits but was later added as a last-minute "rider" to an otherwise beneficial bill related to national parks, which was eventually signed into law by President Clinton.
The lawsuit was based on technical violations that were made while rushing the bill through in the last days of Congress. For example, the bill stated that certain maps are to be used by the Department of Interior in determining which barrier island parcels are to be removed from protection. Before being turned over to the Department, these maps were somehow misplaced by Congress and new ones were later recreated-- this time with additional parcels included among those to be deleted from the System.
The CBRS is a fiscally conservative and environmentally sound program designed to reduce federal expenditures, loss of human life and damage to coastal ecosystems by barring new private construction from receiving federal subsidies on land included in the System. If a parcel is removed from the System, taxpayers would be forced to subsidize the expense of federal flood insurance at an average cost to taxpayers of $82,000 in federal subsidies per developed acre. Approximately 70 acres were proposed to be deleted from the System, including critical sea turtle nesting habitat within the boundaries of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. Not only are these parcels important coastal habitat for sea turtles and other wildlife, but eliminating them from the System would set a precedent for others wanting to develop on protected barrier islands. Because the court sided in favor of the lawsuit, the legislation dealing with the CBRS is officially nullified and the properties in question will remain part of the System.
"This successful lawsuit is a great victory for endangered sea turtles and for taxpayers," said David Godfrey, Executive Director of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. "Important sea turtle nesting habitat has been protected and thousands of taxpayer dollars have been saved with this decision," said Godfrey.
Godfrey added that by halting attempts to remove property from the CBRS, the integrity of the System has been maintained. "Developers in the Florida Keys and elsewhere were already lobbying local Representatives to introduce new legislation to remove additional parcels from the CBRS. Hopefully this victory will slow those efforts," Godfrey said.
Unfortunately, while environmentalists are still celebrating this victory, there are rumors from Washington that the original sponsor of the legislation (Rep. Tillie Fowler, R-FL) is actively trying to attach the debunked language as a "rider" to a bill providing federal relief to flood victims in Bosnia.
"Since the bill stands little chance of passing on its own merits, Rep. Fowler is apparently left with no option but to try to sneak the measure through the congressional process," Godfrey said.
The Caribbean Conservation Corporation is urging people to call their representatives in Congress and ask them to vote against Rep. Fowler's language, which weakens the CBRS, from being added to any bills.
For more information visit the Caribbean Conservation Corporation and Sea Turtle Survival League Web Page at http://www.cccturtle.org.