threat throughout the species' range. This topic will be 

 discussed in detail in another session of this conference, so I 

 will only briefly mention some recent figures on the magnitude of 

 this trade, and point out some significant trends in the 

 Caribbean. A recent report by Milliken and Tokunaga (1987) 

 represents the most comprehensive analysis yet available on the 

 tortoiseshell trade in Japan. Japan accounts for the 

 overwhelming majority of all trade in this product. For their 

 report, the authors analyzed all available statistics from both 

 customs' and dealers' records for the period 1970-1986. They 

 concluded that Japan's trade around the world during this 17-year 

 period represents the utilization of more than 600,000 adult 

 hawksbills. Twenty-six Caribbean countries supplied 

 tortoiseshell to Japan during the period, accounting for over 

 half of the total volume. In terms of number of animals, this 

 represents 251,660 adults. Trade in tortoiseshell is prohibited 

 by CITES between member parties. One promising sign in recent 

 years has been the cessation of trade by many countries within a 

 few years after joining the Convention. Nicaragua is a typical 

 example. CITES came into force there in 1977. Imports to Japan 

 dropped very substantially by 1980. It took considerably longer 

 for trade to drop off in Panama, where CITES became effective at 

 the end of 1978. Exports from this country finally plunged in 

 1986. Panama was the second largest supplier of tortoiseshell to 

 Japan in the entire world for the 17-year period studied by 

 Milliken and Tokunaga. Exports during this interval totalled 

 98,679 kg, or 75,906 hawksbills. It is suspected that 

 tortoiseshell from several neighboring countries has been 

 illegally funneled through Panama to Japan. The government of 

 Panama has reported that it has not issued export permits for 

 tortoiseshell for many years, and has protested this illegal 

 trade to Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. 



Cuba, the second largest supplier in the Caribbean during 

 the study period, exported 97,852 kg of shell, only slightly less 

 than Panama. Cuba is not a party to CITES and thus this trade is 

 not prohibited by the government. 



Two disturbing trends in the tortoiseshell trade are 

 apparent from the Milliken and Tokunaga report. Several 

 Caribbean countries have shown recent increases in the volume of 

 trade. These include Belize, Dominica and Haiti. A second trend 

 is that other countries with no previous record of trade have 

 recently become suppliers, such as Antigua/Barbuda. 



The tortoiseshell figures are staggering in light of recent 

 data on the status of nesting populations in the Caribbean. 

 There are two inferences that might be drawn. One is that, 

 somehow, we are greatly underestimating the size of hawksbill 

 populations in the region, and that major colonies exist but have 

 been overlooked. An alternate interpretation is that current low 

 population levels are the result of this massive, long-term 



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