Department of Commerce NOAA Fisheries
- Pacific Island Regional Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2004

SEA TURTLE POACHERS PLEAD GUILTY IN GUAM
Federal and local officials crack down

NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) announced that four individuals entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Guam on charges of violating the Endangered Species Act. All four individuals were involved in the illegal taking of threatened green sea turtles in January 2004 and their arrests were the first-ever federal arrests for turtle poaching on Guam by OLE. The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and the unlawful take of this threatened species is punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a $25,000 fine. The four guilty men will be sentenced in U.S. District Court on Guam in May 2004.

In January 2004, NOAA Fisheries OLE Special Agent Al Samuels worked in partnership with officers from the Guam Department of Agriculture and the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency - Maritime Interdiction Task Force to arrest and federally charge John Derek Cruz (age 34), Eric Anthony Salas Pinaula (age 28) and Philip Salas Pinaula (age 23), after they were witnessed taking two green sea turtles from waters near Rizal Beach in Agat, Guam. The three men were arrested as they returned to shore with two live green sea turtles hidden in their boat. The turtles were subsequently released back into the water by Guam Department of Agriculture biologists.

Less than two weeks after the arrest of these three men, Tesny Ham (age 44) was arrested and federally charged after he shot a green sea turtle in the neck while spearfishing at night in Agat, Guam. Mr. Ham bound the turtle's flippers with wire, placed it in his boat, and continued spearfishing. While in the water, Mr. Ham's boat anchor failed and drifted away from his dive location forcing Mr. HAM to swim to shore where he breached the outer perimeter of the U.S. Navy base. While being questioned by U.S. Navy security officers, Mr. HAM's boat was found with the live sea turtle still inside. The boat and turtle were taken to the USCGC Galveston Island where biologists from the Guam Department of Agriculture, after determining that the neck wound was superficial, released the turtle back into the water.

Although consuming turtles had been culturally accepted in the past, the practice is now a violation of local and federal laws due to the serious decline in numbers of these animals worldwide. NOAA Fisheries OLE, Guam Department of Agriculture and Conservation, Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency - Maritime Interdiction Task Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard are working hard to educate the public about the serious status of sea turtles in the area and are cracking down on individuals who violate the Endangered Species Act with illegal takes of sea turtles.

Samuels credits the successful capture and conviction of these individuals to community involvement. "Here on Guam, all of the local and federal officials charged with maritime law enforcement work together, so when one agency is contacted with a tip from the community, we all get involved." Samuels encourages the community to continue to call NOAA Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement at 671-472-7200 on Guam when they witness violations occurring.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's living marine resources through scientific research, management, and enforcement and the conservation of marine mammals and other protected marine species and their habitat. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries, please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov.