The name Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN) was chosen nearly 30 years ago to reflect the heart of our mission: protecting marine turtles and other marine species while honoring ancient creation stories, Indigenous wisdom, and the global reverence for turtles as symbols of life.

Why “Turtle Island”?

“Turtle Island” appears in the creation stories of Indigenous peoples around the world. It is central to the oral histories of several Native North American nations, including the Haudenosaunee, and also appears in ancient Hindu cosmology and the traditions of Indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea, among others.

Across cultures, the turtle is revered as a sacred being—an embodiment of wisdom, endurance, and the interconnectedness of all life. Its deep relationship with the Earth makes the turtle a powerful symbol of both biological and cultural diversity.

By incorporating “Turtle Island” into our name, we seek to celebrate this shared global heritage and to honor Indigenous peoples and Indigenous knowledge systems that recognize humanity’s responsibility to care for the living world.

Why “Restoration”?

Protection alone is no longer enough. While safeguarding intact ecosystems remains critical, humans have profoundly damaged many of the life-support systems on which the planet depends.

“Restoration” reflects our commitment to repairing what has been broken—to restoring ecosystems, species, and ecological processes essential to a healthy Earth.

Turtle Island Restoration Network began as the Sea Turtle Restoration Project at the Earth Island Institute, founded by legendary environmentalist David Brower. Brower spoke passionately about the need for Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration (CPR). Including “Restoration” and “Island” in our name is a tribute to his enduring wisdom and advocacy.

Why “Network”?

Real change happens collectively. “Network” recognizes that TIRN’s mission  can only succeed through collaboration—among people, communities, scientists, advocates, and organizations united by shared values and a common purpose.

More About the Turtle Island Creation Stories

In many Indigenous North American traditions, Turtle Island refers to a world carried on the back of a great turtle. Through this lens, the turtle represents life itself—or that which sustains life.

“Turtle Island” Indigenous Art Print by Patrick Hunter, Ojibway.

What is remarkable is that similar creation stories appear across cultures separated by vast distances and thousands of years. Turtles have long served as a bridge between humans and nature, grounding spiritual belief in the living world.

Ancient Hindu mythology tells of the Earth resting on a turtle’s shell, supported by four elephants.

1877 drawing of the world supported on the backs of four elephants, resting on the back of a turtle.

In Papua New Guinea, Indigenous stories recount a giant sea turtle creating the island and carrying the first humans there to live.

A Papua New Guinea folk tale.

These stories—emerging independently across continents and millennia—underscore the universal significance of turtles in human understanding of the Earth’s origins.

Turtle Islands in Our Work

There are also striking geographic connections to our name. The founder of TIRN began his conservation career working in the Dry Tortugas, a remote archipelago 68 miles west of Key West, Florida. The islands are named for the abundance of nesting sea turtles (“tortugas”)—and the lack of fresh water that earned them the label “dry.”

Today, another key focus of our work is Cocos Island, Costa Rica, sometimes called “Turtle Island” for its importance to green and hawksbill sea turtles. This tiny, remote island lies 350 miles off the mainland in the Pacific Ocean. Never permanently inhabited by Indigenous peoples, and only briefly settled by Europeans, it is now a protected Costa Rican National Park and a vital refuge for marine life.

Following the Pacific leatherbacks journey from its feeding areas off the coast of California to its nesting ground in Papua resulted in a partnership with Wences Magun, an inspiring local leader who we helped found Mas Kagin Tapani Association (MAKATA) — meaning “Sea Guardians” in the local Takia and Bel languages of Madang.

In our efforts to save other critically endangered sea turtles such as the Kemp’s ridley and leatherback, our advocacy efforts have historically and currently remained focused on major threats to sea turtles, which are also causing havoc on multiple marine and terrestrial species such as direct harvest of endangered species, unsustainable industrial fishing, and extraction of and burning of fossil fuels.

Honoring Indigenous Lands and Knowledge

Our headquarters in Tocaloma, California, and much of our local restoration work are located on lands that were stewarded for thousands of years by the Coast Miwok people before being taken from them more than a century ago. These lands—including villages such as Tocaloma, Etcha Tamal (Nicasio), and Etcha Kolum (Tomales Bay)—remain sacred to the Miwok people today and contain burial grounds and other culturally significant sites.

We honor and support the Coast Miwok and other Indigenous peoples in their efforts to reclaim their history, culture, and sovereignty. We seek to learn from and uplift traditional ecological knowledge and to incorporate Indigenous perspectives as we work to restore ecological function and heal damaged landscapes.

With our name, Turtle Island Restoration Network, we aim to recognize, revere, and celebrate Indigenous wisdom and culture—and we hope it is understood in that spirit, not as misappropriation, but as respect and responsibility.

Ruling will Likely Result in Restrictions on Swordfish Fishery to Protect Endangered Sea Turtles

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Yesterday the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a federal agency charged with managing the nation’s fisheries, violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to analyze the impacts on endangered sea turtles and sea birds of the California-based longline fishery for swordfish. The Ninth Circuit reversed a previous decision by a district court judge that no such analysis was required. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network, two environmental groups working to protect endangered marine life from destructive and wasteful fishing practices.

The California-based longline fishery grew rapidly over the past four years after previous litigation shut down the Hawaii-based longline fishery for swordfish in November 1999. Approximately three dozen longline vessels relocated from Hawaii to southern California. The California longline fleet fishes primarily for swordfish using monofilament lines up to 30 miles long and carrying thousands of hooks. In addition to the fish they target, these longlines are known to ensnare the critically endangered leatherback turtle, as well as loggerhead, olive ridley, and green sea turtles. Each year the longliners also entangle numerous marine mammals, hundreds of seabirds such as albatross, and thousands of sharks.

“Rather than comply with the Hawaiian injunction, the longliners chose to move their operations to California, where state and federal regulators turned a blind eye to their violations of the ESA,” said Brendan Cummings, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The time has finally come for this illegal and highly destructive fishery to be closed.”

The Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network, along with over 100 environmental and sportfishing organizations and over 400 leading scientists from 50 nations have called upon the United Nations to ban longlining in the Pacific to prevent the extinction of the leatherback sea turtle and numerous species of albatross.

“The giant, Pacific leatherback is on the verge of extinction due to commercial fishing operations,” explained Peter Fugazzotto, communications director, Turtle Island Restoration Network. “If we don’t modify our fishing activities, the ancient leatherback, which out-survived the dinosaurs, may be the first of many species to disappear forever, including the many overfished species of fish on which we depend on for food.”

Scientific data shows that the leatherback sea turtle is in imminent danger of extinction in the Pacific. A recent paper in Nature (June 2000) predicts the species will go extinct in 10-30 years without reductions in adult mortality from fishing activities. Leatherbacks nest in Mexico and Costa Rica in the eastern Pacific, and, in the western Pacific, in Malaysia and Irian Jaya. Although in 1980 it was estimated that there were 126,000 adult female leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific alone, scientists estimate that there are less than 3,000 total leatherbacks left in the eastern Pacific. The western Pacific nesting populations have also been devastated, and are near extinction.

“The National Marine Fisheries Service must follow the law and consider the impacts of this fishery on protected species under the Endangered Species Act,” said Deborah Sivas of Earthjustice. “The agency should also move quickly to come into compliance with the High Seas Fishing Compliance Act of 1995 which prohibits permitting of activity that ‘undermines the effectiveness of international conservation and management measures’.” The lawsuit was also the first ever regarding the High Seas Fishing Compliance Act, a statute that requires U.S. fishermen to comply with international treaties when fishing on the high seas.

A copy of the opinion is available.

Photo/Angela Hadden

Sanction Occurs During Costa Rican Hosted Sea Turtle Treaty Meeting

San Jose, COSTA RICA August 21, 2003 – The US State Department announced in a statement that Costa Rican shrimp exports to the US will be banned until further notice, because of Costa Rica’s failure to enforce its laws that requires shrimp fishers to use Turtle Excluder Devices. Apparently, Costa Rica failed an announced inspection by the US Departments of State and National Fisheries this summer. The US turtle-shrimp law (P.L. 101 162, section 609) requires nations who export shrimp to the US to use ‘comparable’ sea turtle protection measures US shrimpers are required to use, namely a device called a turtle excluder device (TED).

In May, sea turtle biologist Randall Arauz released the results of his study funded by the Costa Rican Ministry of Science Technology (MICIT), testing a modified turtle excluder device (TED), known as the ‘Tico TED’, on Costa Rican vessels. In spite of the full support of the local Puntarenas Chamber of Fishermen, general non-compliance by vessel Captains did not allow for proper testing and scientific analysis.

Arauz, Central American director of the environmental organization Turtle Island Restoration Network, based in California, Texas and Costa Rica, and President of the Costa Rican environmental organization PRETOMA said, “I have conducted investigations in every country in Central America, and none of these nation’s shrimpers are using TEDs either. The US should be even-handed, and embargo the shrimp of every Central American nation. To do otherwise, is simply unfair to Costa Rica.”

Todd Steiner, executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network, who had previously sued the State Department for its failure to implement the law properly said, “Costa Rica shrimp fishers non-compliance with TED laws is a chronic problem occurring throughout the world that is well known by US government officials, who conduct announced-in-advance inspections only to find shiny new TEDs that show no wear, and are sometimes sewn in upside down. While we applaud the US for finally enforcing the provision of the turtle-shrimp law, we seriously question the timing of dropping this embargo bomb in the middle of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC)– with Costa Rica serving as host and Secretariat of the treaty organization, and playing a progressive role in its in administration.” Steiner called the embargo timing “the result of some bureaucratic comedy of errors, or worse.” Steiner also noted that the heavy-handed action comes on the heels of US shrimpers pleas for economic relief made to their representatives in Congress, including calls for tariffs on imported shrimp to help ease the low price shrimpers are being paid for their catch as they try to compete with cheap imports (see US shrimpers, below).

Arauz said, “The way too help sea turtles from drowning in shrimp nets is to work effectively with the fishermen.” In addition to working with the Puntarenas Chamber of Fishermen to create a TED that works well in Costa Rican waters, the conservation organizations arranged for US shrimper and inventor of the TED, Sinkey Boone, of Darien, GA, to travel to Costa Rica to help Costa Rican shrimpers learn how to properly use TEDs. Boone is currently in Costa Rica and is planning to meet with the Costa Rican shrimpers this Friday (8/22). Boone said, “Once they (Costa Rican fishers) know how to make them (TEDs) work right, they will see with their own eyes that TEDs not only save turtles, they improve shrimp catch by reducing unwanted ‘bycatch’ and allowing you to trawl longer. You can get a better price for the shrimp because it’s not squished or broken by the trash, and it reduces wear and tear on the nets by expelling the unwanted debris.”

For photo of dead turtle on shrimp boat, see
http://www.tortugamarina.org/downloads/tortugacamaron.jpg

For more information on US shrimpers http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/072603/bus_biz2001.shtml

For more information on shrimp fishing and turtles, see http://www.seaturtles.org

To contact the US State Department Office of Ocean Affairs, call 202 647 2335

Turtle Island Restoration Network’s Sea Turtle Restoration Project is an international environmental organization founded in 1989 with offices in California, Texas and Costa Rica that works to protect marine biodiversity and restore populations of sea turtles worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.seaturtles.org

PRETOMA is a Costa Rican-based environmental organization that works to promote responsible fisheries and community development while protecting marine biodiversity, especially sea turtles and sharks. For more information, visit http://www.tortugamarina.org

Turtle Island and PRETOMA often collaborate on projects of international significance using shared staff and resources.

Crime Highlights Need For International Cooperation In Marine Protection
ONE TAIWANESE VESSEL LANDS OVER 30 TONS OF SHARK FINS IN SINGLE TRIP, IN VIOLATION OF COSTA RICA’S SHARK FINNING BAN

(San José, Costa Rica – June 4, 2003). On Saturday, May 31, the Taiwanese vessel “GRUIDA U RUEY 1” landed 30 tons of shark fins in the Costa Rican port of Puntarenas. This is a direct violation of a February 2001 Costa Rican regulation that makes it illegal to land shark fins and requires landing of only whole sharks (with fins attached).

Shark finning is the practice of cutting the fins off of sharks, often while sharks are alive. Sharks are then thrown back into the ocean alive and dying. Shark populations are being decimated by this practice (as well as by other forms of fishing) thereby depleting a critically important part of the food web.

Shark fins are a delicacy and are in great demand for shark-fin soup, an ancient delicacy that can sell for as much as $120 a bowl. Hong Kong is the main importer of shark fins but Malaysia, Singapore and mainland China are also major shark fin markets. The large market size and the high value placed on shark fins encourage illegal shark finning.

The illegal operation in Costa Rica was carried out at 9:00 PM when no port inspectors were on duty, but was witnessed by Costa Rican Coast Guard personnel, who ironically, had no authority to intervene because the violation occurred on a private dock.

On Monday, June 2, while inspectors were on duty, the Taiwanese vessel then tried to land the legal products that were in its hold. Under extreme pressure from environmental groups, the Costa Rican Fishery Institute (INCOPESCA) has ordered an investigation and has not allowed the vessel to land.

“This massive landing of shark fins is simply irresponsible and unsustainable,” said an alarmed Irene Boza, Coordinator of the Costa Rican Sea Turtle Restoration Project’s (PRETOMA’s) Shark Campaign. “Since shark fins make up only 5% of a shark’s body weight, we estimate that over 30,000 sharks were killed and finned by this vessel alone on this single fishing expedition,” she said.

“The ease with which foreign vessels violate Costa Rican finning regulations is appalling,” said Randall Arauz, President of PRETOMA. “Simply put, to avoid Costa Rican law, vessels know all they must do is unload their illegal contraband on Saturdays or Sundays, or in the evenings when INCOPESCA inspectors are off-duty. Then, when inspectors are on duty, they land the rest of their catch legally and act as if they are playing by the rules,” denounced Arauz.

Last year (March 12, 2002), PRETOMA filed a lawsuit against INCOPESCA for not enforcing its own shark finning regulations effectively. Unfortunately, on May 14, 2002, the Court let INCOPESCA off the hook, ruling that the agency lacked the necessary economic and human resources to carry out effective controls. This allows for continuation of infrequent random inspections that, Arauz commented, “are totally ineffective and make a mockery of Costa Rican laws intended to protect natural marine resources.”

“Due to the state of emergency and to the current limited capacity of the Costa Rican government to carry out adequate enforcement, the best solution is to forbid the landing of fishery products by foreign fleets,” said Vicky Cajiao, of AMBIO Foundation and Legal Consultant to PRETOMA. She continued, “There are several other solutions to this problem, such as requiring foreign fishing vessels to allow and pay for Costa Rican observers on their vessels, independent eco-labelling, or coordination of actions by the Police, the Port Authority, and the Coastguard to control landings.”

“Costa Rica is a major fisheries player of the region, and will be viewed in the future either as the culprit for the collapse of oceanic ecosystems, or as a country leading the way towards a responsible and sustainable fishing industry,” informed Arauz.

PRETOMA is the Sea Turtle Restoration Project’s Costa Rican partner. It has organized a coalition of dozens of Costa Rican and international organizations, politicians and over 4,000 citizens from all over the globe to protest the current situation and call for strong protection of Costa Rica’s marine ecosystems from illegal fishing activities. For more information on sharks and shark finning or about PRETOMA visit:
http://www.tortugamarina.org

The Sea Turtle Restoration Project (STRP) is a California-based ocean conservation organization that works to protect sea turtles and other marine species in the United States and in countries around the world. For more information about STRP visit: www.seaturtles.org

Photo/Tassapon KRAJANGDARA

Maura Anki, Lagunitas Deli 415 488 4844Marin County, CA– The Lagunitas Deli and Grocery and SPAWN (Salmon Protection And Watershed Network) have teamed up to provide Marin County residents and visitors with a one-stop shop to get information and resources to help protect one of the largest populations of wild coho salmon left in California. The deli, located at 7290 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in the tiny village of Lagunitas, located just outside Samuel P. Taylor State Park and on the main route to Point Reyes National Seashore, has dedicated a corner space in the store for a SPAWN information center. Marin residents and visitors on their way to beaches and open space can find information about SPAWN’s next volunteer restoration activity, pick up free SPAWN newsletters and brochures on the best places to see spawning salmon, and purchase books on the natural history of salmon and the Point Reyes Peninsula. In addition, a number of “fishy” gift items are available including t-shirts, bumper stickers, magnets and pins. Currently, the bulletin board has information on SPAWN’s next volunteer restoration work day at Roy’s Pools on the San Geronimo Golf Course to help shade the creek at this site in effort to improve creek habitat for the fish scheduled for Sunday June 1st from 9-1pm.(For more info, call SPAWN at488-0370 × 102). A featured “gift item” this month are beautiful glass enameled art pins created by Wm Spear Design of Juneau, Alaska, with current designs that include various salmon species, as well as the famous Ray Troll pirate-like “SPAWN TIL YOU DIE” design, which features a human skull with salmon serving as the crossbones. Created through an ancient process known as “champleve” (similar to cloisonné) each pin is enameled with glass by hand, with each color having been placed and fired separately. The metal is recycled copper, which has been electroplated with gold. Most designs are available as pins or zipper pulls. Maura Anki, owner of the Lagunitas Deli commented, “We’re excited about partnering with SPAWN to educate the public about the plight of the salmon that swim right past the store on their incredible spawning migration each year. They do a fantastic job of organizing the community to protect the fish through their restoration activities, public educational walks, community forums, and research activities. I especially appreciate the opportunities they provide for youth. My daughter did an internship with SPAWN when she was in high school and was totally turned on for the first time to biology and environmental studies by the experience. If this even modestly helps the organization financially, we feel doubly good about providing this service” “We love collaborating with local businesses in the watershed and offering the public another way to get the information we all need to protect the magnificent fish of the Lagunitas Watershed. And this will be an easy public display to maintain, as I regularly stop by to pick up a one of their delicious veggie sandwiches,” commented Todd Steiner, SPAWN’s director. Steiner noted that additional ways people can learn about SPAWN activities and items for sale are through their web site (*www.spawnusa.org*) and phone hotline (415 488 0370).

Leading Cost Rican Scientists Say Action is Necessary Now to Prevent Extinctions of Sharks and Leatherback Turtles
An open letter to the President of Costa Rica, Dr. Abel Pacheco, urging the protection of sharks and other endangered marine species from overfishing by foreign fleets, was published in today’s edition of La Nación, Costa Rica’s largest newspaper. The letter is signed by leading Costa Rican marine scientists from the country’s top
universities, Congressmen from four political parties, four commercial
fishing organizations, two community development associations, and over 3120 concerned citizens.

To see the ad, please click here.

The open letter describes the unprecedented risks local shark populations face due to the rapidly growing demand for “shark fin soup” in Asia. Sharks are being captured at alarming rates and other marine species, including critically endangered leatherback sea turtles, are being driven to extinction by their incidental capture in fishing gear targeting sharks for their fins.

The signatories also point out that Costa Rica is a very important player in the fishing industry of the region. Costa Rica has the largest domestic fleet in all of Latin America, over 550 longline vessels, and it also allows hundreds of foreign vessels from nations such as Taiwan, Malaysia, and Indonesia, to land shark products virtually under no control.

Overfishing of sharks is a great concern of Costa Rican fishermen who are collaborating with environmental groups such as the Sea Turtle Restoration Program of Costa Rica (PRETOMA). “We work directly with domestic fishermen doing scientific research to evaluate the problem, develop adequate technology, and recommend management measures in order to mitigate impacts on the marine environment,” said Randall Arauz, Director of PRETOMA. “However, we’re faced with an enormous obstacle, the magnitude of the foreign fleets. Their impact is so overwhelming that it inhibits our ability to create a sustainable shark fishing industry in the future,” he complained.

“In spite of the fact that Costa Rica’s fishery authority INCOPESCA emitted a Board of Directors Agreement in February of 2001, forbidding the landing of shark fins unless they are attached to the carcass, controls are practically null because the government has failed to allocate the needed funds to face the current lack of economic and human resources to carry out efficient controls. Moreover, there is currently no legislation to file criminal charges against fishermen engaged in illegal fishing operations, and foreign vessels take advantage of the current loophole to operate illegally in the waters of our Exclusive Economic Zone”, said a concerned Vicky Cajiao, a member of Fundación Ambio and legal consultant to PRETOMA. “The lack of interinstitutional coordination among the government entities responsible to enforce these controls (INCOPESCA, Coast Guard, Ministry of the Environment), exacerbates the problem”, she added.

In their letter, the signatories call on the President to stop all foreign fishing vessels from landing in Costa Rica until the necessary financial resources and legal framework are in place to regulate effectively. Furthermore, they are calling for the approval of a new Fishery Law that is being studied in the Costa Rican Congress. They also call for the implementation of a program which would place national observers on board national and international vessels to study shark populations, incidental sea turtle capture, and provide the technical foundation for appropriate management measures.

“We believe these measures will conform with Costa Rica’s international reputation as an environmentally concerned country and will be beneficial not only to sharks and sea turtles, but also to the people of the region who depend on a healthy and stable marine environment for their livelihood”, said Arauz.

For an English version of the letter to the President of Costa Rica, please click here.

For more information on shark finning in Costa Rica, please click here.

Texas will Better Be Able to Protect Endangered Sea Turtles
The United States Congress has appropriated $500,000 for a Joint Enforcement Agreement between Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service. The money will be used for the enforcement of regulations dealing with reef fish, highly migratory species and sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

“We are very glad that these funds have been received,” said Carole Allen, Gulf Office Director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project. “Dead sea turtles have started washing up on Texas beaches as shrimping activity has increased. Twenty-one were found dead last week. Consistent law enforcement is the only way to save the sea turtles.”

“The protection of natural resources found in the Gulf of Mexico is a task taken very seriously by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Wardens and without the necessary funding, effective enforcement would have been in jeopardy,” said TPWD Chief of Fisheries Enforcement Larry E. Young. “These funds will enable game wardens to continue an increased presence in the Gulf waters off the coast of Texas to enforce regulations pertaining to reef fish, highly migratory species, and endangered sea turtles.”

The Joint Enforcement Agreement is the second that the state has entered into. Money will be used for new fully equipped off-shore patrol boats, fuel and maintenance for new and existing boats. The operations plan submitted by the state commits the game wardens to working on land, sea and in the air to enforce regulations. The Sea Turtle Restoration Project and HEART (Help Endangered Animals-Ridley Turtles) sent letters of support for the funding of this important work. The office of Texas Senator John Cornyn worked with Texas Parks and Wildlife to acquire the funding.

Fisheries Chief Young says the money will be put to use immediately and enforcement increased.

Tourists from Vermont spotted a Kemp’s ridley crawling on the beach at the Padre Island National Seashore on Wednesday morning, April 9. The turtle laid 94 eggs and was fitted with a transmitter for tracking before being returned to the Gulf of Mexico. This first confirmed Kemp’s ridley nest laid in the United States during 2003 was one of only 162 hatchlings brought from Mexico in 1993 and raised at the National Marine Fisheries Service Laboratory in Galveston, Texas, for nearly a year before its release off Mustang Island in 1994.

“The nesting season of the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles is off to an excellent start,” according to sea turtle project director Dr. Donna Shaver-Miller of USGS.

The 94 eggs were collected from the nest site and transported to the incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore. The hatchlings will probably be ready for release sometime between May 28 and June 4. In 2002, the first nest was found only a day before on April 8 and was the beginning of the best season ever for Kemp’s ridley nestings in the United States with a total of 38 being found.

“The public can play an important role in helping protect the turtles, simply by making a toll-free call,” said Carole Allen of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project.

Beachgoers to all Texas beaches are reminded to call 1-866-TURTLE5 if a nesting sea turtle is sighted. The toll free number is provided by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project and is manned by personnel from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Park Service, the University of Texas system, the Gladys Porter Zoo, US Geological Survey and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Environmentalists to Explore Legislative Fixes to Protect Species and U.S. Shrimpers
Forest Knolls, CA – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to consider a challenge by environmentalists to the State Department’s lax rules pertaining to the import of shrimp caught by foreign fleets. The current rules, environmentalists argue, do not adequately protect endangered sea turtles nor level the playing field for the U.S. shrimp fishing fleet. Environmentalists are now developing a legislative strategy to fix this loophole and are considering a consumer boycott on all foreign shrimp.

“After eleven years of fighting the State Department to get this law properly implemented, I am very disappointed that this loophole remains,” said Todd Steiner, Director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, the lead plaintiff in the case. “With legal avenues exhausted, we are going to figure out a way to fix this loophole legislatively – for the turtles and the U.S. shrimpers.”

The intent of the Turtle-Shrimp Law was to globally protect endangered sea turtles by encouraging other nations to adopt similar laws in order to level the playing field for U.S. shrimpers. Nations that refused to adopt such laws could not sell their shrimp in the U.S. However, the State Department put in place lax rules that allow shrimp to enter the U.S. from countries, such as Brazil and Australia, that do not have laws requiring the national use of Turtle Excluder Devices.

“Despite this set back on this one loophole in the law, our earlier legal victory compelled the State Department to apply the Turtle-Shrimp law internationally, rather than to a select few nations in the Caribbean and Atlantic as State had previously done,” added Steiner.

“The State Department’s interpretation of the law fails to protect sea turtles or U.S. shrimpers,” said Peter Fugazzotto, Communications Director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project. “With the flood of aquaculture shrimp in the U.S. markets, and now this preferential treatment of foreign shrimp fleets, the U.S. shrimp industry may be on its last legs. It’s not fair that American shrimpers get punished for doing their share in protecting global resources.”

Environmentalists are currently developing a legislative fix to this loophole in the Turtle-Shrimp law that will both protect endangered sea turtles and U.S. shrimpers, and not allow the State Department any latitude in misinterpreting the law. Environmentalists are also considering a consumer boycott of all foreign shrimp – both wild caught and aquaculture.

Background

All seven species of sea turtles have been listed as endangered, threatened or vulnerable. Without the use of protective technology, it is estimated that 150,000 turtles drown in shrimp nets globally every year. A Turtle Excluder Device (TED) attached to a shrimp net prevents this needless drowning by more than 97%. This device only costs between $50 and $300. All U.S. shrimpers are required to use TEDs.

A 1989 provision of the U.S. Endangered Species Act (the Turtle Shrimp Law) requires all countries that wish to export wild shrimp into the U.S. to use Turtle Excluder Devices or methods that achieve comparable levels of protection. In 1995, a legal victory by a coalition of environmental organizations compelled the US to require that nations establish policies related to the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (a nation-by-nation standard). As a result of this ruling, 16 nations improved their fishing policies and practices. This law has proven the most effective international mechanism for preventing the drowning of sea turtles by shrimp nets.

In 1996, four nations challenged the Turtle Shrimp Law claiming that it violated the rules of the World Trade Organization. In 1998, the State Department weakened the guidelines relating to the Turtle Shrimp Law, to allow shrimp to be imported on a “shipment-by-shipment” basis.

Environmentalists point out the flaws of this importation basis including the potential for the illegal laundering of shrimp into the country, no economic incentive for nations to continue strong environmental policies, and a questionable ecological benefit to sea turtle populations.

In 1998, the environmentalists challenged the weaker standards at the U.S. Court of International Trade, which failed to provide any injunctive relief, even though it found the State Department in violation of the law. The ruling was challenged at the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals, and, in 2002, the court upheld the weaker standards. Today, the Supreme Court refused to consider the environmentalists’ challenge.

Texas Beach Visitors Can Now Report Turtle and Nest Sightings
Houston…Today, the Gulf Office of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project and HEART (Help Endangered Animals-Ridley Turtles) announced the sponsorship of a toll free Texas Sea Turtle Information Line. This number allows beach visitors to report sightings of sea turtles and their nests along the Texas coasts, and will allow government agencies and biologists to better respond to protect these endangered species if needed.

“Since four Kemp’s ridley sea turtles nested on the north Texas coast last year, we are asking visitors to all Texas beaches to be vigilant and report any activity,” said Carole Allen, Gulf Office Director for Sea Turtle Restoration Project and HEART. “We need everyone’s help to report sea turtles, tracks, nests or hatchlings and the phone line will make it easy.”

Anyone who visits a Texas beach and sees a nesting turtle or its tracks, hatchlings, a turtle nest, or an injured or dead sea turtle is asked to call the toll free number 1-866-TURTLE-5. The caller will be furnished a telephone number for a sea turtle biologist or government agency representative who is closest to the location of the turtle and be asked to make a second call to that person.

Allen added, “Turtles, eggs, eggshells and nests are protected by federal and state law. A nesting turtle should not be disturbed. If possible, the sea turtle should be photographed or video taped and the place where the turtle nested should be marked.”

Although increased law enforcement by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has reduced sea turtle deaths, numbers have historically become more frequent with increased shrimping activity. The Texas Sea Turtle Information Line can be used for the reporting of dead or injured sea turtles.

Agencies participating in this cooperative program include Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Park Service, the University of Texas system, Texas A&M University at Galveston, the Gladys Porter Zoo, U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.