The Cayman Islands (Fig. 5) , a dependent territory of the 

 United Kingdom, was also a regional collecting point. Although 

 there are few resident hawksbills in Cayman waters, the territory 

 is ranked as a major supplier of shell to Japan, providing the 

 equivalent of 27,590 hawksbills to Japan. Although CITES came 

 into force in May 1979, it was not until 1984 that all trade to 

 Japan from the Cayman Islands ceased. 



From 1970-1986 Cuba (Fig. 7) supplied 15% of Japan's total 

 shell imports, and today Cuba is the world's major legal exporter 

 of shell to Japan. Cuba is not a member of CITES, but its 

 imports have not increased as CITES restrictions have curtailed 

 exports from other nations in the region. While Cuban trade is 

 carefully regulated, and sea turtles are legally captured only by 

 state controlled fishery cooperatives (Groombridge and Luxmoore 

 1987) , Cuban biologists admit that populations are in decline (M. 

 Weber, pers. comm.). The quality of shell from Cuba is among the 

 world's best; the light color makes it particularly popular for 

 the manufacture of eyeglasses. Presently, annual exports to 

 Japan represent the harvest of about 3,400 animals. 



Haiti (Fig. 11) is a non-CITES country which is increasing 

 its exports to Japan as CITES controls have reduced or eliminated 

 trade from other areas of the Wider Caribbean. Most importantly, 

 trade from Haiti has been steadily increasing since 1981. As 

 hawksbills are not abundant in Haitian waters, it is feared that 

 Haiti is serving as an entrepot for shell coming from other 

 areas. In 1986 Haitian exports represented the equivalent of 

 1,200 hawksbills. 



International restrictions on sea turtle trade have affected 

 Japan's importing patterns in recent years because Japan has 

 agreed to reduce or eliminate its trade with CITES nations. 

 Whether this is a genuine effort or a documentary ruse is subject 

 to debate. 



It is possible that shipments of hawksbill shell obtained 

 elsewhere are simply being rerouted through non-CITES countries. 

 Prior to 1983, for example, Antigua/ Barbuda, a non-CITES nation, 

 did not export hawksbill shell to Japan. Shipments of shell from 

 Antigua/Barbuda have been recorded in the Japanese Customs 

 Statistics since 1983. Antiguan authorities report that no shell 

 has been legally exported and had no idea that their nation was 

 cited in Japanese Customs Statistics until the Milliken and 

 Tokunaga (1987) report was published. It is suspected that 

 Antigua/Barbuda has been cited on Japanese import documents as a 

 cover for trade from a CITES nation. Similarly, although 

 Panamanian exports have ceased recently, it is reported that 

 Japanese dealers are still operating in that country (A. Meylan, 

 pers. comm.). There are other reports of Japanese dealers 

 illegally buying shell in CITES countries in the Wider Caribbean. 



40 



