*EPF305 05/01/2002
Text: U.S. Bans Shrimp from Indonesia, Haiti under Turtle Law
(Other major exporters certified under U.S. law) (820)

The Bush administration has banned imports of shrimp from Indonesia and Haiti because those two countries have failed to protect sea turtles adequately, a State Department official says.

The official said May 1 that Indonesia and Haiti were the only major shrimp exporters not certified by the department as having met the requirement that shrimp entering the U.S. market must have been harvested in a way causing no harm to threatened turtle species.

He said Indonesia's certification had been revoked in July 2001 after a State Department inspection determined that the government was not effectively enforcing use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) by Indonesian shrimpers.

He said the State Department intends to review Indonesia's compliance later this year because the government has begun moving toward effective enforcement.

Haiti had previously been certified because its government previously allowed only non-mechanical harvest of shrimp unharmful to turtles, he said. Now, however, the State Department has withdrawn that certification because the Haitians are allowing foreign-flag shrimp trawling boats -- reportedly Cuban -- to operate without TEDs in their waters, he said.

The U.S. law essentially requires that foreign shrimpers practice the same practices for conserving turtles that are imposed on U.S. shrimpers. It has survived both international and domestic legal challenges.

Over the past year the World Trade Organization (WTO) gave final approval to current U.S. implementation of the law, defeating a challenge from Malaysia. A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the State Department's implementation against a challenge from a U.S. environmental group.

Following is the text of a State Department media note about the annual certification:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman

April 30, 2002

MEDIA NOTE

SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION AND SHRIMP IMPORTS

On April 29, the Department of State certified 41 nations and one economy as meeting the requirements set by Section 609 of P.L. 101-162 for continued export of shrimp to the United States. Shrimp from other nations that may have been harvested in a manner harmful to sea turtles will be embargoed.

Section 609 prohibits importation of shrimp and products of shrimp harvested in a manner that may adversely affect sea turtle species. This import prohibition does not apply in cases where the Department of State certifies annually to Congress, not later than May 1, that the government of the harvesting nation has taken specific measures to reduce the incidental taking of sea turtles in its shrimp trawl fisheries -- or that the fishing environment of the harvesting nation does not pose a threat to sea turtle species. Such certifications are based in part on verification visits made to countries by teams of experts from the State Department and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

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. The seventeen nations meeting this standard are: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

Twenty-four nations and one economy were certified as having fishing environments that do not pose a danger to sea turtles. Of these, eight nations and one economy -- the Bahamas, China, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Oman, Peru and Sri Lanka -- harvest shrimp using manual rather than mechanical means to retrieve nets, or use other fishing methods not harmful to sea turtles. Sixteen nations have shrimp fisheries only in cold waters, where the risk of taking sea turtles is negligible. They are: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. There is only one change in this year's certification: Haiti was not certified this year. Indonesia remains uncertified from July of last year.

Importation of shrimp from all other nations will be prohibited unless harvested by aquaculture, in cold waters, or by specialized fishing techniques that do not threaten sea turtles. If any of these situations apply, the shipment must be accompanied by a Department of State DSP-121 form signed by the exporter and importer and certified by a government official of the harvesting nation. Users should note that exception 7.A.(2) on the form "Harvested Using TEDs" is currently a valid exception to the prohibition on imports from nations not certified under P.L. 101-162, though the Department of State must determine that a country wishing to use this exception has in place an enforcement and catch segregation system for making individual shipment certifications. Only Brazil and Australia have shown that they have such a system in place for specific fisheries. The DSP-121 form is required with all shrimp shipments, but no harvesting nation government signature is required if the shrimp is from a certified nation.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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