Commercial trade in endangered species

1. Commercial trade in endangered species Man has always used products of animals and plants. Now many species become endangered. CITES was formed to save those species

2. Sea turtles • Sea turtles are examples of the endangered species. • They are cold-blooded animals that live only in the warmer parts of the world. • They are highly migratory

3. Sea turtles species • Scientists currently recognize 8 species of sea turtles world wide. • Five species only are found in Egypt which are: Leatherback Turtle Loggerhead Turtle Green Turtle Olive ridley Turtle Hawksbill Turtle

4. Sea turtle are threatened • Sea turtle species are declining in numbers and listed as endangered species by CITES. • There are natural constrains in the life of Sea Turtles. Threats Natural Human-induced Predation3 main threats in Egypt: 1) pollution 2) beach activities 3) commercial fishing

5. Threats to sea turtles • Natural threats: • Different predators to the different stages of Sea Turtle

6. Human induced threats: 1- Beach activities 2- Pollution

7. 3- Commercial fishing and trade • The commercial trade in sea turtles is seen in Egypt, one of CITES signatory countries. • Turtles have been continuously exploited in Egypt since pharonic times. • They are sold in Egypt for their meat, blood and shells.

8. Sea turtles trade in Alexandria • In Mediterranean Sea, 3 species of sea turtles occur; Green, Loggerhead and Leatherback turtles. • Alexandria includes the most important fish markets of the sea-turtle trade in Egypt

9. MEDASSET visited El-Anphoshi fish market to measure the exploration rate of sea turtles in this market. Both Loggerhead and Green Turtles were seen on display for sale, with the majority (about 85%) being Loggerhead.

10. MEDASSET used a questionnaire for collecting data from a target group of people about: • Public awareness: 25% from the 1st subgroup, 8.8% from the 2nd and 46.3% from the 3rd knew that the sea turtles are an endangered species

11. Lawenforcement: 26.6% from the 1st subgroup, 14.9% from the 2nd and 8.8% from the 3rd knew that the sea turtle trade is illegal according to the Egyptian law

12. Conclusion From this questionnaire, the sea turtle trade continues in the fish market of Alexandria due to lack of law enforcement in implementing the current national environmental law (law # 4 /1994, Act 28) and a lack of awareness of local people about the sea-turtle situation.

13. Conservation actions • The role of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency in controlling this trade. • Public awareness campaigns to Bedouin in Sinai and to fishermen in Alexandria

14. Recommendations • It is important to establish Protected Areas along the Mediterranean coast in the important areas for sea turtles to conserve them. • Zaranik is a good example of a Protected Areas that has helped to save sea turtles.

15. Zaranik is located in North Sinai and declared a protected area in 1985. • Loggerhead and Green Turtles are known to breed in it. • In Zaranik, a hatchery has been established to save sea turtles eggs.