18.218 - 18.225 Sharks and rays (Elasmobranchii spp.)

Subject to external funding, the Secretariat shall continue to provide capacity-building assistance for implementing Appendix-II shark and ray listings to Parties upon request.

The Secretariat shall:
a) issue a Notification to the Parties, inviting Parties to:
i) provide concise summaries of new information on their shark and ray conservation and management activities, in particular:
A. the making of non-detriment findings;
B. the making of legal acquisition findings;
C. the identification of CITES-listed shark-products in trade; and
D. recording stockpiles of commercial and/or pre-Convention shark parts and derivatives for CITES Appendix-II elasmobranch species and controlling the entry of these stocks into trade; and
ii) highlight any questions, concerns or difficulties Parties are having in writing or submitting documentation on authorized trade for the CITES Trade Database;
b) provide information from the CITES Trade Database on commercial trade in CITES-listed sharks and rays since 2000, sorted by species and, if possible, by product;
c) disseminate existing guidance identified, or newly developed, guidance on the control and monitoring of stockpiles of shark parts and derivatives pursuant to Decision18.224, paragraph b) by the Standing Committee; and
d) collate this information for the consideration of the Animals Committee and the Standing Committee.

The Secretariat shall, subject to external funding, and in collaboration with relevant organizations and experts:
a) conduct a study to investigate the apparent mismatch between the trade in products of CITES-listed sharks recorded in the CITES Trade Database and what would be expected against the information available on catches of listed species; and
b) bring the results of the study in paragraph a) to the attention of the Animals Committee or Standing Committee, as appropriate.

The Secretariat, subject to external funding, is requested to collaborate closely with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to:
a) verify that information about Parties’ shark management measures are correctly reflected in the shark measures database developed by FAO (http://www.fao.org/ipoa-sharks/database-of-measures/en/) and, if not, support FAO in correcting the information;
b) compile clear imagery of wet and dried unprocessed shark fins (particularly, but not exclusively, those from CITES-listed species) along with related species level taxonomic information to facilitate refinement of iSharkFin software developed by FAO;
c) conduct a study analysing the trade in non-fin shark products of CITES-listed species, including the level of species mixing in trade products and recommendations on how to address any implementation challenges arising from the mixing that may be identified; and
d) bring the results of activities in paragraphs a) to c) to the attention of the Animals Committee or Standing Committee, as appropriate.

The Animals Committee, in collaboration with relevant organisations and experts, shall:
a) continue to develop guidance to support the making of non-detriment findings (NDFs), in particular in data-poor, multi-species, small-scale/artisanal, and non-target (bycatch) situations, for CITES-listed shark species; and
b) report the outcomes of its work under Decision 18.223, paragraph a) to the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

The Standing Committee shall:

a) develop guidance on the making of legal acquisition findings, and related assessments for introductions from the sea for CITES-listed shark species in the context of the implementation of Resolution Conf. 18.7 on Legal acquisition findings;

b) develop new guidance or identify existing guidance on the control and monitoring of stockpiles of shark parts and derivatives, in particular for specimens caught prior to the inclusion of the species in Appendix II; and

c) report its findings under Decision 18.224,paragraphs a) and b) to the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties.