After more than two years of procedural deliberations, member countries to the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC) are finally ready to get down to the business of saving sea turtles. The 11 member nations unanimously adopted a resolution calling for immediate action to protect the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle from extinction at the second Conference of the Parties held in Venezuela, November 16-18, 2004.
Sea turtles have been in existence for over 100 million years. Currently, all species of sea or marine turtles are either threatened or endangered. Their survival is threatened by a variety of human activities, including consumption of their meat and eggs, use of their shells for ornamental objects, incidental catch or harm from fishing gear, coastal development of their nesting beaches, and pollution of their habitat. The consumption of sea turtle meat and eggs is usually not for subsistence purposes but rather for special occasions such as religious festivities or for the alleged aphrodisiac properties of the eggs. Methods used to capture and kill sea turtles generally cause stress and suffering, as they are usually captured live, stored on their backs in the direct sun without food or water, and slaughtered by cutting open the shell while the animals are still conscious.
The continued survival of the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is currently the most critical of sea turtle issues. Nesting data shows a decrease in the population of more than 90% from 1980 to 2004. Leatherback sea turtles face extinction within the next two decades unless their mortality is reduced. Egg collection and fisheries are major causes of the precipitous decline of the species. Longline and gillnet fisheries are particularly prone to capturing leatherback turtles in the ocean. These non-selective fishing techniques incidentally catch, snag or entangle leatherbacks. The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that 40,000 sea turtles are killed annually in the global longline fisheries.
In the resolution to protect leatherback turtles, IAC Parties called on all member nations to reduce incidental capture and mortality of leatherback turtles in fishing operations, and to protect nesting beaches and habitats. They also urged countries in the region to significantly reduce the use and consumption of leatherback meat, eggs and other products. Member countries are urged to encourage non-member countries to adopt similar measures.
"We applaud the IAC countries for taking this important first step towards improving sea turtle protection and conservation," said Rebecca Regnery of Humane Society International. "It's still only a first step, and much work still needs to be done to protect these creatures," she adds. "Further research is needed to show which modified fishing techniques demonstrate significant reductions in sea turtle mortalities without increasing the incidental catch of other non-target species, many of which are also threatened."
Other issues addressed at the November meeting included on-board observer programs to ensure compliance and enforcement of conservation measures, cooperation with other regional fishery and conservation agreements, and a request for scientists to study the irregular behavior of Hawksbill sea turtles observed on nesting beaches in Mexico.
The meeting failed to address a controversial rule that allows any member country to unilaterally evict an observer with minimal justification. An observer is anyone attending the meeting who is not on a member country delegation, so animal protection groups, including HSUS/HSI, are considered observers. Despite this setback, representatives from animal protection groups have already participated in the meeting of the Scientific Committee and their participation on the Consultative Committee of Experts was approved at this meeting. HSI continues to urge the member countries to strive for greater transparency and to recognize the important role that non-governmental organizations play in animal conservation and protection.
The IAC came into force in 2001, and had its first Conference of the Parties (meeting of member countries) in 2002. The main objective of this convention is the protection, conservation and recovery of sea turtle populations and of the habitats on which they depend. The Third Conference of the Parties is to be held in Mexico in 2006.
