Environment Ministry Confiscates Turtle Shell Items from Hotels and Stores

In a series of eight different operations, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARENA) confiscated hundreds of objects made from Carey sea turtle shells (Eretmochelys imbricata) being sold at hotels, commercial centers and gift shops in tourism areas in Santo Domingo, Juan Dolio and Bávaro.

The Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network (WIDECAST) congratulated SEMARENA for taking “firm steps in the application of existing domestic laws that protect the threatened sea turtles.”

The officials found wallets, bracelets, earrings, charms, mirrors, rings, hairclips, necklaces, omegas, jewelry boxes, combs, shells and complete specimens ranging in prices from between RD$300 and RD$18,000, for each item.

The biggest haul happened on February 2 in the El Cortecito souvenir sales area where 257 turtle shell items were seized including 9 dried turtles and 11 full turtle shells. This last operation was carried out with the support of the provincial Environment Ministry Office and the National Environmental Protection Service (SENPA) of Altagracia.

The operations are being carried out by a commission headed by technicians of the Office of Biodiversity and Wildlife of the Environment Ministry Office of Protected Areas and supported by the Attorney General for the Defense of the Environment, technicians from the Ministry of Coastal and Marine Resources, the SENPA and the Dominican Fishing Council (CODOPESCA).

The Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network (WIDECAST) congratulated SEMARENA for taking “firm steps in the application of existing domestic laws that protect the threatened sea turtles.”

In the name of this international organization, which represents 43 countries, executive director, Karen Eckert said that since last October the Ministry has made strenuous efforts to eradicate the illegal sale of Carey sea turtle shell items in souvenirs shops.

The Environment Ministry reported that the operations are continuing around the entire country and warned that those who continue to break the law will be punished with fines and imprisonment.

Protected Species

The Carey sea turtle is on the list of Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which the Dominican Republic signed in 1982 and ratified on March 17, 1987.

According to WIDECAST, recent studies in the Dominican Republic have confirmed the critical state of this turtle species in the country. The largest population of this nesting turtle registered in the DR is on Saona Island where some 20 to 25 males nest annually. In the Jaragua National Park there are only five who come every year.

More than 160 countries ratified the CITES Convention, an instrument in the struggle against the illegal trafficking of this species as well as the regulation of animals and plants, in all their parts and derivatives.

Environment Ministry Confiscates Turtle Shell Items from Hotels and Stores .

Environment Ministry Confiscates Turtle Shell Items from Hotels and Stores .

Environment Ministry Confiscates Turtle Shell Items from Hotels and Stores .