Marine Turtle Conservation and Japan Illegal Trade in Turtle Shell Government Policy, Legislation, and Enforcement Action of JWCS
ILLEGAL TRADE IN TURTLE SHELL
Click here to view the "Summary Report of Migration to Illegal Market- Japanese market of Hawksbill turtle shell in a state of no control" (PDF) Hawksbill shell, also known as “bekko,” serves as the raw material for a wide range of luxury artifacts, and has been the superlative symbol of elegance and in many civilizations throughout history. In the late 19^th century, the bekko industry experienced remarkable growth as it was used to make souvenirs for visiting foreigners in Nagasaki. Since then, international trade in Hawksbill turtles for commercial purposes has been banned, following its inclusion on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in 1975. Japan remains one of the few countries in the world to still have a large-scale market and processing industry for bekko products. In 2002, there were 237 bekko traders registered with the Japanese authorities. The three main bases for bekko production are Nagasaki, Tokyo and Osaka Prefectures. To this day, seizures of illegally imported bekko by Japanese Customs are commonplace.

Becko is illegally smuggled to Japan from Sulawesi Island, Indonesia and Java via Singapore. Smuggling routes for becko between the Caribbean and Japan ahave also been identified, and the Dominican Republic is thought to derve as the main entry point and transit point for trade. Japanese traders often hide bekko in the bottom of wooden boxes between seashells and covered with marble. They then attempt to smuggle them into Japan labelled as "shell" or even "dried fish intestines". Becko is also placed between plates of water buffalo horn and put in boxes to export declared as "water buffalo horn".
Indonesia has illegal networks with a total supply capacity of bekko exceding six tons per year. A number of export companies and wholesaler's have been identified, some of which export as much as 1,000 Hawksbill tutles each month. Bekko products (mainly accessories) are smuggled from Indonesia and other Asian countries to then be sold in imported sundries shops, accessory shops, and on the internet. The bekko trade networks in Indonesia are extremely active, and trade routes between Sulawesi Island and Japan are serving as smuggling routes to this day. Immediate attention by Japan and the world is needed to stop the illegal trade in turtle shell.