Sharks and CITES - Latest News

Sawfish Pristis zijsron saw (left) and fins (top right) in shop window, Sandakan, Sabah. The dried fins are priced at RM1,000 (about US$400); the 4-5 foot saw is 'not for sale'. CITES Appendix 1 listing might prohibit export, but not domestic trade. Photo: Sarah Fowler.

• a discussion paper by the US National Marine Fisheries Service on shark status and fisheries world-wide;
• a report by the World conservation Union (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group on the biology and conservation status of sharks and their implications for exploitation and management, including a list of species of particular concern; and
• a summary report by the TRAFFIC Network on their global overview of the utilisation of and trade in sharks and related species. (The full report of 18 month TRAFFIC study is being published in December 1996 - see page 6.)

These reports all highlight the vulnerability of sharks to overfishing (as a result of their slow growth, late maturity, and low reproductive capacity), and emphasise the significant lack of information on shark fisheries, biological status, or trade. They recommend enhanced species-specific data collection to improve our knowledge of the biology of these species, the scale of fisheries landings and bycatch, and the levels of international trade in sharks.

Such data are required in order for the implementation of sound management of shark populations. It was also noted that the Shark Resolution should cover the closely related rays and chimaeras, which have the same general biology and are subject to the same unregulated fishing pressures.

Additional information was provided by Japan (on the status of pelagic sharks in the Pacific Ocean), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO, describing activities towards supporting the CITES Resolution - see page 7), the International Commission for the

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Latin American Fisheries Development Organization (OLDEPESCA) (see next page).

A document is also in preparation by the Center for Marine Conservation, in cooperation with TRAFFIC. This reviews the scope and potential of existing international agreements and conventions relevant to management and trade in sharks. It will be released in early 1997, and was not available for the meeting.


Preparation of report to the 10th CITES meeting The Chairman of the Animals Committee is currently preparing a summary report for CoP 10 incorporating biological and trade information presented to the Committee since CoP 9. A small drafting group was formed to assist in preparation of this document, comprised of individuals representing Panama, the United States, Japan, FAO, ICCAT, OLDEPESCA, Central American Fisheries Organization (OSPESCA), TRAFFIC and IUCN. The report will base its conclusions and recommendations on those in the working documents from the US, TRAFFIC, IUCN and FAO.

The first draft was considered by the drafting group in early November. A revised draft will be circulated to Mexico, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Germany and members of the Animals Committee, for finalising in December. The final report will be submitted to the Parties (currently 132 countries) at the 10th Conference in June 1997 with a request for endorsement.

Listing proposals for CITES Appendices
Despite the important information-gathering efforts initiated since CoP 9, there have been very few new management initiatives for sharks. As a result of the growing concern over the unmanaged growth in shark fisheries and trade, government agencies in the US and UK have been asked to propose at CoP 10 certain species of elasmobranchs for listing on CITES Appendices. Additional proposals may be under consideration by other CITES authorities. These are only likely to be submitted to the CoP if national authorities decide, in consultation with other range states, that the proposals are well justified - decisions must be made by January 1997.

Species listed on Appendix I are considered to be endangered with extinction and therefore international trade in such species is only allowed under exceptional circumstances (domestic use is not affected). Trade in Appendix II species is subject to strict regulation and monitoring to ensure that it is not detrimental to the status of the listed species. This could be achieved by fisheries management programmes for all listed fish species which are landed for export.

The US Ocean Wildlife Campaign (a coalition of six conservation organisations) has proposed that spiny dogfish Squalus acanthiasin the Northwest Atlantic be listed on Appendix II because growing international trade in meat and fins (mainly to Europe) has led to dramatic increases in landings, discards, and fishing mortality. This recently expanded but completely unregulated fishery is particularly problematic because it targets schools of mature females, threatening the reproductive potential of the population (see page 8). The OWC has also recommended that the dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus in the Northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico be listed on Appendix II because its abundance has declined by an estimated 80% since the mid-1970s. Fishing mortality still exceeds production, and fishing pressure on dusky and other large coastal sharks remains high as a result of strong demand for shark fins for overseas markets.

All sawfish species (family Pristidae) have been proposed to the US government for an Appendix I listing because of their severely reduced populations world-wide. As reported in previous issues of Shark News, while these species were historically relatively abundant in warm coastal waters and estuaries, they have disappeared completely from many parts of their former range, while elsewhere catches, even of single individuals, are now unusual events. Sawfish fins enter international trade, as do their unique 'saws' which are valued as curios and reportedly used in traditional Chinese medicine (see page 10).

The UK has been asked by the Isle of Man government to propose, on its behalf, listing the basking shark Cetorhinus maximus on Appendix II. This species is listed as globally Vulnerable in the 1996 IUCN Red List, because fisheries records indicate that some local populations have declined by 50%-80% in a decade or less as a result of fisheries seeking liver oil, fins, and meat (see Shark News 6:4). The only remaining directed fishery for the species in European waters is now driven primarily by the very high value of the huge fins in international trade. The species is protected within a 12 mile radius of the Isle of Man, but sightings are still in decline there, suggesting that the population is being affected by factors operating outside this small range of protection.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society and Humane Society International have asked the Australian government to put forward a proposal for listing the white shark Carcharodon carcharias (also listed as Vulnerable by IUCN) on Appendix I (see page 9).

Possible outcomes?
Whether or not any of these proposals for listing species under CITES reach the full Conference of the Parties in June 1997, it is evident that sharks will figure prominently on the agenda. As such, the awareness of the conservation problems of sharks and rays will be increased among CITES delegates, government officials, fisheries managers and the public. It will also be apparent to all those concerned with the CITES process that lack of significant progress with shark management following the 10th CoP will result in renewed pressure to include sharks on CITES Appendices at the 11th Conference.

So, while CITES is not itself a management treaty, discussions in this forum should help to stimulate domestic and regional fisheries regulation. Improved management before CoP 11, even in the absence of any successful listing proposals, could arise from the introduction of new management plans for elasmobranch fisheries, increased data collection efforts, the discouragement of wasteful fishing practices (e.g. finning and under-utilisation of sharks), and initiatives to reduce elasmobranch bycatch. In addition, the Parties could decide to establish a Marine Fish Working Group to address the special issues of CITES implementation for trade in commercially important fish species, such as sharks and sturgeons. Such a Working Group could make a valuable contribution to the debate, even if no fish listing proposals are agreed at CoP 10 next June, for this is an issue which will not go away. Sarah Fowler, Editor.


International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
ICCAT has responded to the CITES Shark Resolution by establishing a Shark Working Group as part of their Sub-Committee on Bycatch. A primary objective of the Working Group is to improve the identification of shark species caught as bycatch in fisheries targeting tunas and tuna-like species. ICCAT has produced and distributed a shark data collection form to all of its contracting parties, in order to improve data collection.


Latin American Fisheries Development Organization (OLDEPESCA)
OLDEPESCA has requested information about shark fisheries in its region and is considering holding a workshop to discuss information needs and management strategies. Sharks were on the agenda at the XIIth Conference of Fisheries Secretaries in November, which addressed the multilateral fishing problems of the Region. The main topic was Environment and Trade, with agenda items which included the Tuna/Dolphin controversy, the Inter American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, and shark fisheries, particularly in light of the recent proposal for the listing of certain species on CITES Appendices sent out to consultation by the US government.