Sea Turtle Conservation And Shrimp Imports

The Department of State determined that Costa Rica no longer meets the requirements set by Section 609 of P.L. 101-162 related to the protection of sea turtles in the course of commercial shrimp harvesting. As a result of this August 14, 2003, determination, importation of shrimp harvested in Costa Rica with commercial fishing technology that may adversely affect endangered sea turtles will be prohibited. However, imports of shrimp harvested in Costa Rica by other means, including by aquaculture and with artisanal methods, may continue.
 
In making this determination, the Department expressed the hope that the import prohibition will be a brief measure. The Department will work closely with the Government of Costa Rica to address concerns that led to this determination. In particular, the Department will make recommendations to Costa Rica to assist fisheries and law enforcement officials and to take steps in the near future to re-assess steps taken by the Government of Costa Rica to enforce their requirements to protect sea turtles in the course of shrimp harvesting.
 
P.L. 101-162 (Section 609) prohibits the importation of shrimp harvested in ways harmful to sea turtles unless the Department of State certifies that the harvesting nation either has a sea turtle protection program comparable to that of the United States, or has a fishing environment that does not pose a threat to sea turtles.
 
The chief component of the U.S. sea turtle conservation program is a requirement that commercial shrimp boats use sea turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to prevent the accidental drowning of sea turtles in shrimp trawls. Sea turtle excluder devices can be 97% effective in excluding sea turtles from trawl nets, and have resulted in an estimated 11% increase per year in some endangered nesting populations in the Gulf of Mexico.