Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 118.djvu/821

 118 STAT. 791 PUBLIC LAW 108–266—JULY 2, 2004 Public Law 108–266 108th Congress An Act To assist in the conservation of marine turtles and the nesting habitats of marine turtles in foreign countries. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004’’. SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— (1) marine turtle populations have declined to the point that the long term survival of the loggerhead, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, and leatherback turtle in the wild is in serious jeopardy; (2) 6 of the 7 recognized species of marine turtles are listed as threatened or endangered species under the Endan gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and all 7 species have been included in Appendix I of CITES; (3) because marine turtles are long lived, late maturing, and highly migratory, marine turtles are particularly vulner able to the impacts of human exploitation and habitat loss; (4) illegal international trade seriously threatens wild popu lations of some marine turtle species, particularly the hawksbill turtle; (5) the challenges facing marine turtles are immense, and the resources available have not been sufficient to cope with the continued loss of nesting habitats caused by human activi ties and the consequent diminution of marine turtle popu lations; (6) because marine turtles are flagship species for the eco systems in which marine turtles are found, sustaining healthy populations of marine turtles provides benefits to many other species of wildlife, including many other threatened or endan gered species; (7) marine turtles are important components of the eco systems that they inhabit, and studies of wild populations of marine turtles have provided important biological insights; (8) changes in marine turtle populations are most reliably indicated by changes in the numbers of nests and nesting females; and (9) the reduction, removal, or other effective addressing of the threats to the long term viability of populations of marine turtles will require the joint commitment and effort of— 16 USC 6601. Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004. 16 USC 6601 note. July 2, 2004 [H.R. 3378]

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