November 2, 1999
Sea Turtle Restoration Project

Forest Knolls, CA -- In an effort that further erodes environmental laws, the US State Department, still seeking to appease the World Trade Organization, is allowing Australia to export shrimp to the US without having a national Turtle Excluder Device (TED) law in place. With two nations (Australia and Brazil) now exploiting the loophole that the State Department created in the law, environmentalists fear that turtle populations will be at grave risk, despite the misleading appearance of protection.

On October 27, 1999, the Federal Register (Volume 64, Number 207)] [Page 57921] recorded a notice that the State Department determined that Australia can export shrimp from the Spencer Gulf in Southern Australia, even though the country still does not have a national TED law in place.

"The decision by the State Department to put commerce before conservation once again shows that the environment always loses to free trade," added Fugazzotto. "The WTO's influence on environmental laws is despicable, placing more importance on shrimp cocktails than the extinction of a species. Forget reforming the WTO, let's just abolish it."

The US Turtle Shrimp law requires all nations who wish to export shrimp to the US to have national laws in place requiring the use of TEDs or other comparable means of protection. In response to an adverse ruling from the World Trade Organization, the State Department weakened the guidelines of the law to allow the export of shrimp from nations that do not have national laws in place if individual vessels claim they are using TEDs.

Even the US National Marine Fisheries Service stated that "this approach will significantly diminish the conservation benefit" of the US Turtle Shrimp Law (Source: NMFS letter dated July 28, 1998). A preliminary ruling (April 2, 1999) by the US Court of International Trade has found that the State Department's approach violates the intent of the law.

"This piecemeal approach to conservation may temporarily prop up the global economy, but it is bad for the future of the sea turtles and the oceans," said Peter Fugazzotto, Associate Director of STRP. "Turtles are highly migratory and therefore require protection in all phases of their life cycle. As seen by the export of shrimp from yet another country that does not have a national TED law in place, either the State Department does not understand basic biology or it just doesn't care whether turtles die."

For extensive information on the WTO/sea turtle issue, and to to find the Federal Register Notice (in our Media/Press area) please go to www.seaturtles.org.

Peter Fugazzotto
Associate Director
Sea Turtle Restoration Project