Indian shrimp exports to U.S. banned

Monday, 05 May 2003, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
WASHINGTON: Shrimp imports to the U.S. from India, Bangladesh, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela have been banned. This follows a State Department certification that these countries do not use specialised fishing techniques to protect endangered sea turtles. Under a provision of a 1990 U.S. law, the State Department must make such certification by May 1 each year. The law prohibits importation of shrimp and products of shrimp harvested in a manner that may adversely affect sea turtle species. The chief component of the U.S. sea turtle conservation programme is a requirement that commercial shrimp boats use sea turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to prevent the accidental drowning of sea turtles in shrimp trawls. In a media note, the department said it had certified 39 countries plus Hong Kong for shrimp exports. It has also determined that 15 nations meeting this standard are Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Suriname, Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago. Twenty-four nations and one economy were allowed to export shrimp to the U.S. as they were certified as having fishing environments that do not pose a danger to sea turtles. Of these, 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, Britain and Uruguay. Shrimp imports 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, the note said.
Source: IANS
siliconindia