HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – A 2,000 - kilometer – long coastline, the ability to breed tortoises in captivity and relatively easy catches allow the Vietnamese to earn money from polished tortoiseshell despite world efforts to protect the endangered sea turtles, says Pham Dinh Khuong, manager of Pham Minh Sang factory, a major exporter of tortoiseshell, ivory and lacquerware.

            “In Vietnam, the danger is not serious yet because our fisherman just happen to catch them in their nets,” said 40-year-old Khuong, also foreman at the four-story shophouse-factory which employs six workers. “Occasionally they catch them but not in large numbers and near the coast, not far away. If we were to have big fishing vessels, then we could catch more.”

            Khuong, whose family has exported tortoiseshell in small numbers to France and ltaly for the past 40 year, says they now want to develop markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. The factory, named after his elder brother, is one of only two large exporters of tortoiseshell in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon.

            Relatives in coastal Ha Tien province, some 350 kilometers (218 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City, regularly supply Khoung with the hard brown-yellow shells and whole tortoises.

            The killing is quick, Khuong says, from the time the turtles are turned upside down and a wooden stick is struck across the reptile’s fleshy neck. A long narrow cut along the sides is made to remove the organs and preserve the tortoises for use in home decoration. From the hard dull backs of the tortoises emerge stylish spectacle frames, hair combs and accessories, cigarette cases, purses, bracelets and utility boxes.

            Khuong says his factory processes some 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of tortoiseshell each month. Big sea turtles average over four years and weigh some five kilograms, with one kilogram coming from the shell.

            “We can breed them in large numbers so we don’t worry yet,” Khuong says.