U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

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59–118

" ! SENATE 105TH CONGRESS

2d Session

TREATY DOC.

1998

105–48

INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON SEA TURTLES

MESSAGE

FROM

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

TRANSMITTING

INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION OF SEA TURTLES, WITH ANNEXES, DONE AT CARACAS DECEMBER 1, 1996, (THE ‘‘CONVENTION’’), WHICH WAS

SIGNED BY THE UNITED STATES, SUBJECT TO RATIFICATION

ON DECEMBER 13, 1996

MAY 22, 1998.—Convention was read the first time, and together with

the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate

(III)

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

THE WHITE HOUSE, May 22, 1998.

To the Senate of the United States:

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to

ratification, I transmit herewith the Inter-American Convention for

the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, with Annexes, done

at Caracas December 1, 1996, (the ‘‘Convention’’), which was signed

by the United States, subject to ratification, on December 13, 1996.

I also transmit, for the information of the Senate, the report of the

Secretary of State with respect to the Convention.

All species of sea turtles found in the Western Hemisphere are

threatened or endangered, some critically so. Because sea turtles

migrate extensively, effective protection and conservation of these

species requires cooperation among States within the sea turtles’

migratory range. Although the international community has

banned trade in sea turtles and sea turtle products pursuant to the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora, the Convention I am transmitting is the first

multilateral agreement that actually sets standards to protect and

conserve sea turtles and their habitats.

In section 609 of Public Law 101–162, the Congress called for the

negotiation of multilateral agreements for the protection and conservation of sea turtles. In close cooperation with Mexico, the

United States led a 3-year effort to negotiate the Convention with

other Latin American and Caribbean nations. Once ratified and implemented, the Convention will enhance the conservation of this

hemisphere’s sea turtles and harmonize standards for their protection.

I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the Convention and give its advice and consent to its ratification.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON.

(V)

LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, July 16, 1997.

The PRESIDENT,

The White House.

THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you the InterAmerican Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea

Turtles, with Annexes, done at Caracas December 1, 1996 (the

‘‘Convention’’). The United States signed the Convention, subject to

ratification, on December 13, 1996, in Caracas, Venezuela. I recommend that the Convention be transmitted to the Senate for its

advice and consent to ratification.

All known species of sea turtles found in the Western hemisphere are threatened or endangered, some critically so. Because

sea turtles migrate extensively, effective protection and conservation of these species require cooperation among States within their

migratory range. Although the international community has

banned trade in sea turtles and sea turtle products pursuant to the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora (‘‘CITES’’), the Convention I am submitting is the

first multilateral agreement that actually sets standards to protect

and conserve sea turtles and their habitats.

Congress called for the negotiation of multilateral agreements for

the protection and conservation of sea turtles in Section 609 of the

Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and

Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1990 (Public Law 101–162).

In close cooperation with Mexico, the United States led a threeyear effort to negotiate the Convention with other Latin American

and Caribbean nations. Substantive negotiations on the Convention

concluded on September 5, 1996, at a meeting in Salvador da

Bahia, Brazil. The Convention, once ratified and implemented, will

enhance the conservation of sea turtles and harmonize standards

for their protection throughout the Western Hemisphere.

More specifically, the Convention requires Parties to promote the

protections and conservation of sea turtle populations and their

habitats; to reduce the incidental capture, injury and mortality of

sea turtles associated with commercial fisheries; to prohibit the intentional take of, and domestic and international trade in, sea turtles, their eggs, parts and products; and to foster international cooperation in the research and management of sea turtles. The Convention specifically obligates Parties to require the use of turtle excluder devices (‘‘TEDs’’) by commercial shrimp trawl vessels in a

manner comparable to the requirements in effect in the United
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States. The Convention also includes provisions on monitoring and

compliance.

The following material reviews the salient aspects of the Convention.

Article I defines certain key terms for purposes of the Convention. Article II of the Convention sets forth its objective, which is

generally to promote the protection, conservation and recovery of

sea turtle populations and of the habitats on which they depend.

Article III prescribes the area of application of the Convention (‘‘the

Convention Area’’), which is the land territory in the Americas of

each of the Parties, as well as maritime areas of the Atlantic

Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean with respect to

which each of the Parties exercises sovereignty, sovereign rights or

jurisdiction over living marine resources in accordance with international law, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention

on the Law of the Sea.

Article IV of the Convention requires Parties to take a variety of

measures to protect and conserve sea turtles and their habitats.

Paragraph 1 contains a general obligation in this regard; paragraph 2 sets forth more specific obligations, which include, inter

alia, prohibition of the intentional taking of sea turtles and of domestic trade in sea turtles, their eggs, parts and products; compliance with obligations under CITES relating to international trade

in sea turtles, their eggs, parts or products; protection of sea turtle

habitats; promotion of relevant scientific research and of efforts to

enhance sea turtle populations to determine the feasibility of these

practices; and minimization of incidental capture, retention, harm

or mortality of sea turtles in the course of fishing activities.

With respect to the prohibition on trade in sea turtles contained

in Article IV(2) (a) and (b), it should be noted that all species of

sea turtles that occur in the Western Hemisphere appear on Appendix I to CITES; international trade in such sea turtles by

CITES Parties is thus banned. The Convention is crafted to reaffirm the CITES regime with respect to international trade, while

also prohibiting domestic trade in sea turtles.

Article IV(3) provides for certain exceptions to these obligations.

Pursuant to Article IV(3)(a), a Party may allow exceptions to the

obligations relating to the intentional capture, retention and killing

of, and domestic trade in, sea turtles solely to satisfy economic subsistence need of traditional communities, provided such exceptions

do not undermine efforts to achieve the objective of the Convention.

A Party considering such exceptions must take into account recommendations of the Consultative Committee of Experts, established under Article VII. Such a Party must also establish a management program that includes limits on levels of intentional taking of sea turtles and report to the other Parties on this program.

This exception would not directly affect the United States, as

U.S. law prohibits the intentional taking of sea turtles, for subsistence use or otherwise. However, traditional communities in certain

other States in Latin America and the Caribbean do take sea turtles intentionally. If the Convention had prohibited this practice,

few such States would have become party to it. The Convention instead creates a regime in which, for the first time, such takings

will be circumscribed and monitored.
VII

In addition, the Parties may, by consensus, approve exceptions to

the other measures required to be taken pursuant to Article IV(2)

to address circumstances warranting special consideration, provided that such exceptions do not undermine the objective of the

Convention. However, the Parties may not approve any exception

relating to Article IV(2)(b), which, as noted above, reaffirms obligations set forth in CITES. The intention in this respect is to ensure

that it is clear that CITES takes precedence over the Convention

with respect to decisions relating to international trade in sea turtles (and in sea turtle eggs, parts and products).

Articles V through VIII of the Convention deal with institutional

arrangements to help coordinate the implementation of the Convention by the Parties. Article V provides for regular and extraordinary meetings of the Parties to review implementation of the

Convention and to consider further action, including the possibility

of adopting additional conservation and management measures

deemed appropriate to achieve the objective of the Convention. All

decisions taken at such meetings, including the adoption of amendments to the Convention and to its Annexes, are to be adopted by

consensus.

Although the Convention does not establish a secretariat, Article

VI calls upon the Parties to consider doing so at their first meeting

and sets forth a list of functions that such a secretariat could perform. As with other decisions that the Parties may make at their

meetings, a decision to establish a secretariat would need to be

adopted by consensus.

Article VII creates a Consultative Committee of Experts, composed of government officials and of representatives of the scientific

community, the private sector and non-governmental organizations,

to advise the Parties. This innovative feature is designed to ensure

that the Parties will benefit from a broad spectrum of views and

input in implementing the Convention and to provide a forum in

which individuals representing a range of interests can develop

common ground in making recommendations to the Parties on sea

turtle conservation and protection. Although the Consultative Committee will have representatives of the scientific community, Article

VIII establishes a separate Scientific Committee to allow for the

provision of scientific advice directly to the Parties and to undertake scientific analyses at the request of the Parties.

Article IX of the Convention obligates each Party to establish a

program to ensure monitoring and observation of the measures to

protect and conserve sea turtles set forth in the Convention. More

generally, Article X requires each party to ensure effective compliance with such measures, while Article XI calls for the preparation

and dissemination program of each Party.

Articles XII–XIV seek to promote international cooperation and

coordination in achieving the objective of the Convention, with a

view in particular to helping developing States achieve better sea

turtle protection and conservation. For years, the United States

has promoted sea turtle protection efforts throughout this hemisphere, particularly by providing access to TEDs technology and by

training foreign fishermen and fisheries managers in the construction and use of TEDs. We fully expect such efforts to continue. The
VIII

Convention does not, however, require the Parties to make assessed contributions.

Article XV requires the Parties, in implementing the Convention,

to act in a manner consistent with the 1994 Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and to endeavor to facilitate

fisheries trade.

Articles XVI–XX of the Convention address certain subsidiary

matters. Article XVI requires that the Parties settle disputes that

may arise under the Convention by peaceful means, but does not

mandate recourse to any particular dispute settlement mechanism

or forum. Article XVII contains two traditional safeguards clauses

concerning the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the

Parties. Article XVIII obligates each Party to adopt measures in its

respective national laws for implementation of the Convention and

to ensure effective compliance. Article XIX seeks to encourage

States that are not party to the Convention either to become Parties or otherwise to adopt laws and regulations consistent with the

Convention. Article XX envisions the possibility that protocols to

the Convention may be negotiated between States Parties to the

Convention and States in other regions that are not eligible to adhere to the Convention for the purpose of promoting the protection

and conservation of sea turtles in other regions of the world.

Articles XXI–XXVII of the Convention are the final clauses. Pursuant to Article XXI, any State in the Americas may become a

party to the Convention (in this regard, Article I(4) defines ‘‘States

in the Americas’’ as the States in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea, as well as other States that have continental or insular territories in this region). Article XXII provides

that the Convention will enter into force following the deposit of instruments of ratification by eight of these States.

In accordance with Article XXIII, no reservations are permitted.

Article XXIV provides that amendments to the Convention are to

be adopted, by consensus, at meetings of the Parties and are to

enter into force for all Parties following ratification, acceptance or

approval by all Parties. However, as is the case for several other

international agreements relating to living marine resources to

which the United States is a party, Article XVI provides that

amendments to the annexes, which are technical in nature, will become effective for all Parties one year following their adoption, also

by consensus, at a meeting of the Parties, without the need for ratification, acceptance or approval. Article XXV provides for withdrawal from the Convention, and Article XXVII concerns authentic

texts and certified copies of the Convention.

Annex I lists the species of sea turtles to which the Convention

applies.

Annex II calls upon each Party to consider the adoption of additional measures to protect sea turtle habitats within its territory

and in maritime areas with respect to which it exercises sovereignty, sovereign rights or jurisdiction.

Annex III, which builds upon the provisions of Article IV(2)(h),

obligates each Party to require shrimp trawl vessels subject to its

jurisdiction that operate within the Convention Area to use TEDs.

Annex III also provides the possibility for certain limited excep-
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tions to this requirement and establishes a process for the development of more specific rules relating to the use of TEDs.

Annex IV describes elements to be included in the annual reports

prepared by the Parties in accordance with Article XI(1).

Existing legislation, including the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq., and

the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq., provide sufficient legislative authority to implement U.S. obligations under the

Convention. Therefore, no new legislation is necessary in order for

the United States to become party to the Convention.

Accordingly, I recommend that the Convention be transmitted to

the Senate as soon as possible for its early and favorable advice

and consent to ratification.

Respectfully submitted,

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT.
(1)
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