Trinational Trade and Enforcement Training Workshop to Support the Legal and Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises Commission for Environmental Cooperation – August 2019 Trinational Trade and Enforcement Training Workshop to Support the Legal and Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises i Please cite as: CEC. 2019. Trinational Trade and Enforcement Training Workshop to Support the Legal and Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises. Report. Montreal, Canada: Commission for Environmental Cooperation. 2019. 84 pp. This publication was prepared by Kurt A. Buhlmann, Michael J. Dreslik, and Peter Paul van Dijk for the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The information contained herein is the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the CEC or the governments of Canada, Mexico or the United States of America. About the author(s): Kurt A. Buhlmann, Ph.D., is a conservation ecologist, focusing on recovery of threatened amphibians and reptiles, and operates Buhlmann Ecological Research and Consulting, LLC, and is also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Michael J. Dreslik, Ph.D., is an ecologist with Applied Envirolytics, LLC. Peter Paul van Dijk, Ph.D., is Director of Turtle Conservation Programs, with Global Wildlife Conservation; Field Conservation Director at the Turtle Conservancy; and deputy chair of the IUCN SSC Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Reproduction of this document in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes may be made without special permission from the CEC Secretariat, provided acknowledgment of the source is made. The CEC would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication or material that uses this document as a source. Except where otherwise noted, this work is protected under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial– NoDerivative Works License. © Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2019 ISBN: 978-2-89700-275-6 Disponible en français – ISBN: 978-2-89700-277-0 Disponible en español – ISBN: 978-2-89700-276-3 Legal deposit – Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec, 2019 Legal deposit – Library and Archives Canada, 2019 Cover photo : Glyptemys insculpata (wood turtle), Kurt A. Buhlmann Publication Details Document category: Project publication Publication date: August, 2019 Original language: English Review and quality assurance procedures: Final Party review: June, 2019 QA348 Project: Operational Plan 2017–2018 / Supporting Sustainable Trade of CITES Species Commission for Environmental Cooperation 700 de laGauchetière St. West, Suite 1620 Montreal (Quebec) H3B 5M2 Canada t 514.350.4300 f 514.350.4314 [email protected] / www.cec.org Table of Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations v Abstract vii Executive Summary viii Acknowledgements x Preface xi 1. Introduction 1 2. Background Information 4 3. Conservation Biology Session 9 4. Management and Trade Session 13 5. Law Enforcement Information 28 6. Conclusions and Recommendations from the Workshop 31 Resources 36 Annex A: Workshop Agenda 38 Annex B: Workshop Participants 43 Annex C: Priority Species Summaries 45 Bibliography 61 List of Tables and Figures Table 1. Priority turtle and tortoise species 1 Table 2. Number of turtle species, by IUCN Redlist category 4 Table 3. Conservation biology session objectives 9 Table 4. Representative data for life-history traits, summarized for the priority turtle species 11 Table 5. Management and trade session objectives 13 Table 6. CITES trade data summary for gross exports of the priority turtle species, 2000–2016 15 Table A1. Priority species included in the Action Plan for North America on Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises 38 Figure 1. A preferred marking scheme for turtles 22 iv Commission for Environmental Cooperation Acronyms and Abbreviations Table 1. Priority turtle and tortoise species 1 CA Canada CEC Commission for Environmental Cooperation Table 2. Number of turtle species, by IUCN Redlist category 4 CFIA Canadian Food Inspection Agency CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Table 3. Conservation biology session objectives 9 Conabio Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity; Mexico) Table 4. Representative data for life-history traits, summarized for COSEWIC Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada the priority turtle species 11 DGVS Dirección General de Vida Silvestre (General Directorate for Wildlife; Mexico) Table 5. Management and trade session objectives 13 ECCC Environment and Climate Change Canada IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature Table 6. CITES trade data summary for gross exports of the priority turtle LEMIS Law Enforcement Management Information System species, 2000–2016 15 LGVS Ley General de Vida Silvestre (General Law of Wildlife; Mexico) MVP minimum viable population Table A1. Priority species included in the Action Plan for North America on MX Mexico Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises 38 NDF non-detriment finding NGO nongovernmental organization NOM-059 Official Mexican Standard NOM059-SEMARNAT-2010 (Mexico) Figure 1. A preferred marking scheme for turtles 22 PARC Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (United States) PIJAC Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (United States) PIT passive integrated transponder (tag) Profepa Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection; Mexico) SARA Species at Risk Act Semarnat Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources; Mexico) SWG State Wildlife Grant Program, United States Fish and Wildlife Service SUMA Sistema de Unidades de Manejo para la Conservación de la Vida Silvestre (National System of Management Units for the Conservation of Wildlife; Mexico) TFTSG Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group of IUCN TSA Turtle Survival Alliance TTTW Trinational Turtle Trade Workshop UMA Unidad de Manejo y Aprovechamiento Sustentable (Wildlife Management and Sustainable Use Unit; Mexico) UNEP-WCMC United Nations Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Centre US United States USDA United States Department of Agriculture USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service WAPPRIITA Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Inter-provincial Trade Act WWF World Wildlife Fund Terrapene carolina major (Gulf Coast Box Turtle), Kurt A. Buhlmann Abstract The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) held the Trinational Trade and Enforcement Training Workshop to Support the Legal and Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises in Miami, Florida, United States, from 24 to 26 October 2018. The development of this workshop was identified as a priority action in the CEC Action Plan for North America: Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises (CEC 2017). The workshop objectives were extensive and sought to understand the ecology and life-history traits of turtles, recognize the challenges presented by trade (both pet and meat trade), identify research and management needs to help achieve sustainable trade and maintain viability of wild populations in North America, develop or revise policy for achieving turtle conservation, and revise a priority-species list. The topics covered during the workshop addressed conservation, management, and enforcement needs. The workshop was conducted by holding specific sessions focusing on CITES Appendix II species, turtle life-histories, and discussions about non-detriment findings (NDFs), sustainable trade, sustainable harvest, captive breeding (including farming and ranching), and law enforcement. Participants from Canada, Mexico, and the United States sought to explain and understand how each country addressed trade in tortoises and freshwater turtles, in the context of CITES, with the overall goal of increasing trinational cooperation to support the sustainable trade of twelve species identified as priority species in Action Plan for North America: Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises. As part of this workshop, the participants visited the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Wildlife Inspection offices at the Port of Miami to learn methodologies and challenges associated with wildlife trade and enforcement. A closed-door enforcement session allowed confidential sharing of information among participants from the three countries who have enforcement responsibilities. Although the workshop focused on identifying how legal and sustainable trade can be facilitated and promoted under CITES, awareness of the magnitude of the illegal trade that is occurring was also discussed. Workshop participants outlined action items that may help promote sustainable legal trade, and also outlined suggestions and recommendations for addressing illegal trade. This workshop report includes information compiled by the facilitator prior or during the workshop to support discussions and is included in this report as reference. Trinational Trade and Enforcement Training Workshop to Support the Legal and Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises vii Executive Summary The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) held the Trinational Trade and Enforcement Training Workshop to Support the Legal and Sustainable Trade in Turtles and Tortoises, in Miami, Florida, United States, from 24 to 26 October 2018. The development of this workshop was identified