Turtle shell

[reet]

Hello everyone
I have found a piece of a turtle shell
It is a one part of many segments that make up the whole shell
Has anyone else found these likewise?

[caradow]

Yes I have found those scattered on the sand.
Probably remnants of a turtle eaten by a shark.
My most interesting turtle find was the skeletal remains (minus the shell) of a very large turtle lying on a sand dune in Los Roques looking out over the ocean.
I always thought this guy died a very peaceful death in a very beautiful place. His head now sits on a shelf in my house and I often cherish the thought in hoping that my own death will be in such a beautiful place. However my luck will probably be getting hit by an large truck on some busy highway.

[valhalla360]

Check with authorities if you decide to bring it home. Generally owning any sea turtle parts can run you afoul of the law.

[sailingabe41ds]

I bring it home...enjoy it ...and forget the authorities. When is the last time the authority knocked on someone's door and arrested someone or fined them for a piece of turtle shell. Use common sense....I hope the authorities have more important things to do then send the SWAT team for a piece of turtle shell.
But if you want to do it by the book....check with the authorities (and loose your turtle shell...maybe get fined and arrested in the process).....and enjoy the turtle soup.

IMHO

Abe

[Andre Robles]

Perhaps it was eaten by a shark...

[StuM]

CITES covers import/export and trade, but can anyone actually point to anything that makes it illegal aywhere to possess a piece of turtle shell or anything made from one?


Especially since we don't know where the OP is based.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by StuM

CITES covers import/export and trade, but can anyone actually point to anything that makes it illegal aywhere to possess a piece of turtle shell or anything made from one?

Especially since we don't know where the OP is based.

I have a number of shells that are covered by CITES. They will issue proper certification paperwork to allow legal import/export and transportation if it is allowed.

The organisation is set up to control the sale and movement of endangered species it is not there to catch you out.

There is likely a CITES office in the country where the OP is. If you really would like to keep it and be legal you should contact them and discuss the situation. They will identify the species for you and tell you if it is on any of the endangered species lists. They do not charge for certification.

https://cites.org/eng


You may even learn something about the beautiful creature it originated from.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

I bring it home...enjoy it ...and forget the authorities. When is the last time the authority knocked on someone's door and arrested someone or fined them for a piece of turtle shell. Use common sense....I hope the authorities have more important things to do then send the SWAT team for a piece of turtle shell.
But if you want to do it by the book....check with the authorities (and loose your turtle shell...maybe get fined and arrested in the process).....and enjoy the turtle soup.

IMHO

Abe

I'm not suggesting the OP did anything wrong.

Are the authorities likely to randomly search your home...of course not.

But it's not unusual to search when you go thru customs and the penalties are pretty harsh.

[Andre Robles]

Originally Posted by Andre Robles

Perhaps it was eaten by a shark...

Leaving jokes aside. I think that the problem would be not reporting the shell with Cites. You have not commited any wrong by finding a shell. It would be important to document briefly how it was found and to certify it was not found within a national park or wildlife sanctuary.

[Sailing Ohm]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

I bring it home...enjoy it ...and forget the authorities. When is the last time the authority knocked on someone's door and arrested someone or fined them for a piece of turtle shell. Use common sense....I hope the authorities have more important things to do then send the SWAT team for a piece of turtle shell.
But if you want to do it by the book....check with the authorities (and loose your turtle shell...maybe get fined and arrested in the process).....and enjoy the turtle soup.

IMHO

Abe

That’s just stupid, arrogant and part of the reason CITES exists in the first place. A hundred thousand tourists removing shells, coral or anything can substantially alter/damage a local environment and only validates illegal poaching. And a hundred thousand tourists is nothing more than a collection of individuals.

Why risk it especially if in a foreign country or a protected natural area (like the entire USVIs or the western half of Hawaiian islands) You never know when a customs official will decide you are the one to check.
I’ve been on line in Lombok airport when a customs officer decided to check the luggage of a leaving tourist. Well he had gathered a few pieces of coral from the beach and was immediately escorted into a small room off on the side. He didn’t come out for the remainder of the time I was in the airport which was about 3 hours.... technically you are not allowed to even remove shells, coral, sand or anything and ignorance of the law isn’t a valid excuse. Something about a country wanting to maintain its natural beauty....how dare they...

As others have said there are legal ways to keep things like this you find and outside of that you run a risk.

As someone who has been beach combing my while life I can tell you it’s not that common of a find.

Take NOTHING but photographs and leave NOTHING but footprints and the world will be a better place.

[psk125]

We came across a turtle floating head and flippers up in Block Island Sound one summer. The shell was about three feet long, two feet across. Seems to have died from the cold. We left it there.

[sailingabe41ds]

Don't remember the op ever saying he was in a foreign country and had to go through customs. The guy found a tinny piece of shell he did not chase and kill a turtle. Now I am stupid and arrogant....got to love this....next thing is the Nuremberg trials for me for crimes against humanity. Btw I love turtle soup (pinch of salt, garlic, and onions), the skin creams made for the turtle, and fried turtle eggs in the morning. Lighten up ...the minute you start personalizing your self-rightious argument and calling people names you lost the argument. Must be youthful inexperience.

Abe

[GordMay]

Today green sea turtles, like all other species of sea turtles, are federally protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. If you ate one, in the United States, you would be committing a felony.
Turtles are one of the most imperiled groups of animals on the planet. Habitat loss is probably their biggest threat; when a wetland is drained, a field paved over, or a nesting beach overrun with condominiums, there is simply no space left for turtles. But harvesting too many for food has played a key role in driving down turtle populations in this country and across the world. In fact, the market for turtle soup was so intensive, in the United States, that many of their turtle populations are still recoverin,g from trapping and harvesting, that occurred decades ago.
Turtle populations have an interesting survival strategy. Most young turtles and eggs are eaten by predators like raccoons, herons, and big fish. This wasn’t historically a problem, because turtles that do survive to adulthood typically live for many, many years. They produce so many eggs over their lifetime that chances are good at least a few will survive long enough to replace their aging parents. The strategy works quite well as long as we don’t take the adult turtles out of the population—particularly the females—before they’ve had their many years of reproduction. That is why even individual turtles are so important.
Even if people are allowed to eat a few turtles every once in a while, there is another important reason why we may not want to: It’s not just bad for the turtles; it’s bad for us. Remember how turtles can live for decades? Well, if that turtle is sitting in polluted water, it is going to be absorbing and consuming contaminants for many years. This unfortunate habit has made the snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) a model organism for studying how pollutants persist in wetlands. For example, despite a ban, since 1979, on the manufacture of polychlorinated biphenyls, turtles in some areas, still have alarmingly high concentrations of PCBs, in their blood and their meat.



“The Rise and Fall of Turtle Soup” ➥ https://www.history.com/news/the-ris...of-turtle-soup

[psk125]

On the other hand, turtles are farmed in pools on the Cayman Islands. Turtle fritters made from young animals can be pretty tasty. Chewy, though.

[jamhass]

In the US, owning turtle shell is not generally illegal. However, buying, selling, importing, exporting and often simply transporting generally is.