5.1. Harvest of nesting females was so extensive (for the leather trade) that between 75,000 and 100,000 females were killed each year (despite a legal limit of 20,000). In May of 1990, the harvest of turtles was banned in Mexico. Population status for stocks nesting in India are far less clear. Based on my review of data presented by Dash and Kar (1990) there is no clear trend in nesting population status at Gahirmatha.