Sea Turtle Conservation and Shrimp Imports

On January 26, 2004, the Department of State determined that Nigeria 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 determination, importation of shrimp harvested in Nigeria with commercial fishing technology that may adversely affect endangered sea turtles will be prohibited. However, imports of shrimp harvested in Nigeria by other means, including by aquaculture and with artisanal methods, may continue under certain conditions.

In making this determination, the Department expressed the hope that the import prohibition will be a brief measure. The Department has offered to work closely with the Government of Nigeria to address concerns that led to this determination. In particular, the Department will make recommendations to Nigeria to assist fisheries and law enforcement officials, and is open to re-assessing efforts made by the Government of Nigeria to enforce their requirements to protect sea turtles in the course of shrimp harvesting.

Also on January 26, 2004, the Department re-certified Honduras and Costa Rica based on steps those governments have taken, in cooperation with their fishing industries, to improve enforcement and compliance with their respective fisheries laws regarding protection of sea turtles. Certification was withdrawn in January 2003 for Honduras and July 2003 for Costa Rica due to concerns over compliance and enforcement.

Section 609 of P.L. 101-162 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. TEDs 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.

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