These include Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Fiji, Germany, India, Morocco, New Zealand, United States of America, FAO, World Customs Organization, Organization of American States, Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center, Organizacion del Sector Pesquero y Acuicola del Istmo Centroamericano (OSPESCA, Organization of Fishing and Aquaculture in Central America), Pew Charitable Trusts, SOS – Save Our Species, Oceana, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Humane Society, WildAid, TRAFFIC and Monterey Aquarium, to name but a few.
The Secretariats of CITES and FAO benefited from new sources of funding provided by the European Union (EU), and technical and financial support from other partners that have contributed to put in place the necessary tools and measures to implement the listings.
Buoyed by the generous contribution of €1.2 million from the EU to address the challenge, CITES and FAO have worked collaboratively in order to bring the fisheries and CITES communities together in key shark fishing and trading nations.
Close coordination by RFMOs and Regional Fishery Bodies (RFBs) at the regional level, and national fisheries agencies at the local level is critical for the effective implementation of these new listings. Much effort has gone into engaging directly with these entities, which will continue to ensure that CITES requirements are complementary to existing measures and contribute to good overall fisheries management.
“It is through global, regional and national collaboration that we will effectively implement these new listings. This global collaborative effort is the most comprehensive we have seen in the 40 year history of the Convention to prepare for the implementation of a new CITES listing,” concluded Mr. Scanlon.
Reservations
Several countries have entered reservations on some or all of these species: Denmark, on behalf of Greenland (porbeagle shark), Canada, Guyana (all five shark species and the manta rays), Japan (all five shark species), Iceland (porbeagle shark) and Yemen (the three hammerhead sharks). This means that they will not be bound by CITES regulations regarding trade in these species. However, in the case of trade with States that are CITES Parties and that have not entered a reservation, the usual permits or certificates will be required.
The CITES Secretariat has developed a dedicated web portal on the new sharks and manta ray listings, available at:
http://www.cites.org/prog/shark
Source: CITES.
