SIC 0919 Miscellaneous Marine Products

SIC 0919

This industry classification covers establishments primarily engaged in miscellaneous fishing activities, such as catching or taking of miscellaneous marine plants and animals. Plants and animals covered under this code include seaweed, sponges, sea urchins, terrapins, turtles, and frogs. Cultured pearl production also falls under this classification.

NAICS CODE(S)

114119

Other Marine Fishing

111998

All Other Miscellaneous Crop Farming

The primary marine animal featured under this heading is the turtle. Turtles became popular for meat and soup shortly after Columbus arrived in the New World. By 1878 an estimated 15,000 green turtles were shipped annually from the Caribbean to European markets. The market for the turtle began to wane in the 1990s amid mounting environmental concerns that the species was nearing extinction.

The turtle's popularity as a meal item had created a serious threat to its ability to sustain its population by the turn of the twenty-first century. In addition to risks associated with over-harvesting and habitat loss, thousands of turtles have been injured or drowned in other commercial fishing operations.

All six species of marine turtles around the continental United States are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 1973 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora drafted a resolution to prohibit the trade of endangered or threatened species, including the imperiled sea turtles. The agreement was signed by 95 nations. To further protect the species, the U.S. Department of State began requiring shrimp fisherman to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to protect turtles from being killed in shrimp trawls. In 2002 the U.S. government certified the shrimp harvesting practices of 41 countries as turtle-safe.

The diamondback terrapin, which lives in estuaries and salt marshes along the eastern seaboard and through the Gulf of Mexico region, is regarded by many culinary experts as the best-tasting species of turtle. The diamondback terrapin population was in danger as far back as the 1920s, spurring the institution of regulatory measures designed to protect it. Governmental agencies undertook breeding efforts to reestablish it in some areas. During the 1960s the diamondback population started to show signs of recovery, but market demand also increased. More stringent regulations defining the size and season for taking turtles...