Contact: David Butler FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/30/96
Endangered sea turtles that enjoy a high degree of protection in U.S. waters may receive similar safeguards in other areas throughout the Western Hemisphere as the result of a historic international agreement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service announced today.
The international agreement, the first of its kind devoted solely to the protection of sea turtles, was signed Sept. 5 in Brazil by the United States and 14 other countries from North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
National sea turtle conservation programs will be established in those countries that ratify the accord. These programs will include a prohibition on the intentional capture, killing or sale of sea turtles, the conservation and restoration of sea turtle habitat and nesting beaches, and the reduction of, to the greatest practicable extent, accidental harm to sea turtles in the course of fishing activities.
The agreement, known as the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, also requires the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) on nearly all shrimp trawl vessels operating in the region. TEDs have proven to be extremely effective in enabling turtles to escape the trawl net and prevent them from drowning.
The agreement will take effect when ratified by at least eight of the 23 countries who participated in the negotiations during the past two years. No changes will be necessary to U.S. law for ratification by the United States. The agreement is expected to have little impact on the current U.S. sea turtle protection region.
All sea turtles that inhabit U.S. waters are classified as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Kemp's ridley, leatherback and hawksbill are listed as endangered. Loggerhead and green are listed as threatened. All of these species of sea turtles are protected under the agreement.
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