symposium on combating wildlife crime:
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Symposium on Combating Wildlife Crime: Securing Enforcement, Ensuring Justice and Upholding the Rule of Law Queen Sirikit National Convention Center Bangkok, Thailand 10-12 March 2013. Key Illicitly and Illegally Traded Species: Sharks and Mantas. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Symposium on Combating Wildlife Crime:Securing Enforcement, Ensuring Justice and Upholding the Rule of Law
Queen Sirikit National Convention CenterBangkok, Thailand10-12 March 2013
Key Illicitly and Illegally Traded Species:Sharks and Mantas
Fabio Hazin, Universidade Federal Rural of Pernambuco, [email protected]; [email protected]
What is finning and when the fin trade is illegal ?
Shark Finning
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Rhinoceros and elephant poaching1/8
Shark finning is a wasteful use of precious species which have a very low productivity and high vulnerability
Shark finning has been therefore condemned and prohibited by several RFMOs and Countries worldwide
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Regulations
About 70 States and 10 RFMOs have banned shark finning! (e.g.: ICCAT, GFCM, IOTC, IATTC, NAFO, SEAFO, WCPFC, CCAMLR, NEAFC)Most fin x body ratio (5%): open to interpretation and difficult to enforce raw x dried fins; species; fin sets; etc...
More recently, several countries are adopting fins attached:e.g.: Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, EU,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, USA
Others have adopted a ban on shark fishing:e.g.: Palau, French Polynesia, the Maldives, Honduras, Bahamas, the
Marshall Islands
Or a ban on the export of shark fins: Equador 3/8
X
www.sharktrust.org
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ICCAT as an RFMO exampleWhat ICCAT- the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has done to protect sharks?
Prohibited to retain onboard, tranship, land, store, sell, or offer for sale any part or whole carcass of the following shark species: Bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosus (2009; Rec. 09-07); Oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus) (2010; Rec. 10-07); Hammerheads*, Sphyrna spp. (except S. tiburo) (2010; Rec. 10-08); Silky shark*, Carcharhinus falciformis (2011; Rec. 11-08).
* In the case of the hammerheads and the silky shark, developing coastal States are exempted from this prohibition, on the condition that they are used only for local consumption and do not enter international trade!
** The catch of all other species is conditioned to the submission of data
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Where the fins go ?
The Oceanic whitetip and the hammerheads are proposed at CITES CoP 16 for Appendix II Listing
It would greatly help the enforcement of ICCAT (and other RFMOs) measures It would improve the availability of data on trade and consequently on catches,
worldwide It would significantly improve the management of the fishery ensuring its
sustainability
Mainly to Hong Kong and associated markets!
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Brazil as a Country exampleBrazilian legislation on finning:1) Portaria IBAMA 121, 24/08/1998 Ban on finning, based on a 5% fins x body ratio Upon landings, the weights of fins and carcasses have to be
measured and informed to the environmental agency (IBAMA) in a specific form…The lack of compliance with this measure has led to several
apprehensions of fins, which documents of origin were not available…
2) Interministerial Normative Instruction No. 14, 26/11/2012 Ban on finning, based on the mandatory landing of sharks
with all fins totally or partially naturally attached to the body Prohibition of transshipment of sharks
# Much easier to implement and to enforce #
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Although the shark finning and the consequently illegal fin trade is still a very serious problem worldwide, the international community seems to be moving in the right direction...
The approval of the shark proposals in CITES Appendix II during CoP 16 would be a quite significant help to ensure the proper monitoring of the fin trade and consequently the sustainability of these species worldwide
will
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Manta Ray Gill Plate Trade
Dried gill plate from large Manta Ray
Photo: Paul Hilton
Manta Ray landed for its gill plates
Gill plates from a large Manta Ray retail for up to US$ 680 per kg.
High value gives incentive for poaching in Marine Protected Areas and the waters of countries that protect Manta Rays.
Enforcement becomes more difficult and expensive.
The listing of Manta Rays in CITES Appendix II would greatly help to improve the gathering of trade data and consequently to ensure the
proper management and conservation of this iconic species 8/8
AH KRS ST N
MANYT AS&