Submissions to Notification 2013/023

Argentina

CL, SL, SZ, LN,

En el marco del Consejo Federal Pesquero, se trabaja con la Subsecretaria de pesca y Acuicultura, los Estados Provinciales y el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores en la aplicación de "Medidas de Manejo de Condrocitos~ entre las cuales se pueden citar, entre otras, la Prohibición de la Pesca Objetivo, el "Aleteo" a bordo, etc.

En conjunto can la Subsecretaria de Pesca y Acuicultura, el Consejo Federal Pesqueroel INIDEP, . Instituciones, Universitarias y Académicas, además  de Organizaciones no Gubernamentales, se realiza un seguimiento del "Plan de ‘Acción Nacional para la Conservacióny Manejo de los Condrocitos (Tibutones, Rayas y Quimeras) en la Republica Argentina”. La ultima reunión tuvo lugar en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires en abril del corriente ano, si bien los resultados están en etapa de edición, puede señalarse entre otros avances la Conformación del grupo de AsesoramientoTécnico del Plan. Se esta trabajando en conjunto con la Subsecretaria de pesca y Acuicultura, el en marco regulatorio y el mecanismo administrativopara la emisión de losCertificados/permisos.

El instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero(INIDEP),pose un programa sobre Pesquerías de Condrocitos cuyo objetivo general es proveerasesoramiento dentifico-tecnico sobre el estado de explotación, alternativas de manejo y conservación delos conductos.

Comentario general: De la información sobre las poblaciones de Condrocitos de Argentina y lascifras deexportaciones de los mismos surge que el Comercio Internacional no es un factor queafecte su conservación. No obstante como se señalamas arriba existen variasiniciativas queabarcan a todas las especies de tiburones presentes en el Mar Argentino.

Subsecretaria de Pesca y Acuicultura, Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca.  Consejo Federal Pesquero. Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo pesquero (INIDEP)

9–11 December 2013:

The CITES Authorities of Australia and New Zealand, in collaboration with TRAFFIC and ANCORS, will organize a workshop to discuss and obtain:

• Regional approaches to the implementation of Appendix II listings, along with Resolution Conf 14.6 (Rev. CoP16) on Introduction from the Sea.
• A “blueprint” for the region, describing activities necessary to effectively implement Appendix II listings by September 2014.

Follow-up national meetings as well as meetings of relevant regional bodies with responsibilities in relation to management of these species and thereby develop and introduce measures to implement the Appendix II listing.

Partners:TRAFFIC, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS),

CITES Secretariat

Funding: Expenses attributed to the University of Wollongong (hosting) are met by TRAFFIC and ANCORS.

Australia and New Zealand are funding their own attendance.

3-4 December 2013:Workshop (possibly live webinar and video report) on shark identification for law enforcement and fisheries management officials in 2013.  The aim of the workshop is to teach participants (national authorities):

• How to use the regionally-specific shark ID guides
• How to distinguish the detached fins of CITES-listed species from fins of other sharks
• Where to find additional shark ID information and guides
• Methods for developing a chain of custody of shark products from catch to export, including information on methodology being used in other countries

All materials used will be available to the CITES Sec for its consideration on the development of a virtual course in the CITES virtual college platform.

Partners: Defenders or Wildlife, Teyeliz, the Species Survival Network (SSN) and humane Society International

Funding:USD199,180 total.  EU-CITES support provided  to facilitate attendance of some Party-nominated participants.

September 2013 – November 2014:The National Fisheries Service of Chile, in collaboration with the Austral University of Chile, are planning:

• Training activities inthe fundamental aspects of CITES;
• Coursesor workshops on the correct determination of the different species of sharks that are landed or capture throughout the country, all users: fishermen, traders and supervisors;
• Preparationof materials and identification guides
• Makingtagging and genetic studies of different species, promoting the release of bycatch, previous tagging and genetic sampling.
• Studieson the distribution and abundance of sharks species in the region

Partners:Austral University of Chile

Funding: USD 1,000,000; support requested

September 2013 – September 2016:

The EU provides funding for CITES project entitled"Strengthening capacity in developing countries for sustainable wildlife managementand enhanced implementation of CITES wildlife trade regulations, with particular focuson commercially-exploited aquatic species".  The project aims to assist CITES Parties (in particular developing countries) implement their obligations linked to the inclusion of marine species in the CITES Convention. In particular, focussing on the challenged posed by the inclusion of shark and ray species into the CITES Convention at C0PI6.

To prepare the implementation of this project, the EU commissioned Traffic to do a study, which was published in July 2013 ("Into the deep: implementing CITESmeasures for commercially-valuable sharks and manta rays")

Partners: CITES Secretariat

On-going:

FAO has produced identification tools for over 8000 aquatic species through the FAO FishFinder Programme (http://www.fao.org/fishery/fishfinder/en). Work is on-going to develop a FAO Shark Fin Identification Guide. 

Partners: CITES Secretariat

Funding:EU-CITES support provided to cover for some of the ongoing/new activities

Germany (Federal Ministry for the Environment and Federal Agency for Nature Conservation)

August 2013 – December 2013:

Developing recommendations and guidelines (taking into account publications on fisheries management and/or non-detriment findings for marine fish species, information on methods used within national, regional and/or international fisheries management, especially sharks, as well as expertise of other shark and/or fisheries management specialists) for the practical implementation within the non-detriment-finding procedure of CITES Scientific Authorities for shark species listed in CITES Appendix II, with special reference to the Porbeagle, based on a review of existing management measures. The final report shall be submitted to the 27th Animals Committee in 2014 as an Inf. Doc. by Germany

2014:

Partners: N/A

October 2013 – July 2013:The Government of India are planning:

To conduct a workshop on:

• Developing a system to maintain shark trade data
• Dissemination of knowledge on identification of sharks, their fins
• Developing a protocol for verifying of legal harvest
• Raising awareness about the relevant fisheries and wildlife legislations applicable in this context

Partners:Ministry of Environment and Forests, Department of Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture), Department of Fisheries (coastal state governments), Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Wildlife Institute, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Fisher Survey of India, Bay of Bengal Programme, Humane Society, TRAFFIC-India, WWF, Wildlife Trust of India

Mexico

(Autoridad Administrativa CITES de México, Dirección General de Vida Silvestre, SEMARNAT)

June 2013- September 2014: The Interministerial Committee for Monitoring the Convention in Mexico, organized by the CITES Authorities , fishing and other Mexican government agencies are elaborating a roadmap that lists the activities required to strengthen the implementation of the newly listed sharks in CITES:

• Create a scientific basis concerning the newly listed CITES species
• Population monitoring
• Provide support and training materials to the target audience for the identification of specimens, parts and derivatives
• Chain tracking production and spread /inform target audience of the procedures for sustainable international trade
• Inspection and monitoring

Partners: Dirección General de Vida Silvestre (DGVS), Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO), Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (PROFEPA),  Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca (CONAPESCA), Instituto Nacional de Pesca (INAPESCA), Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores , Unidad Coordinadora de Asuntos Internacionales (UCAI), Secretaría de Economía, Administración General de Aduanas, Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC)

2009 – November 2013, the Department of Conservation, New Zealand has been / is planning to continue:

• Running workshops on general CITES implementation and prevention of illegal trade workshop. They are tailored to the needs of each individual country, so the type of activity varies depending on the situation. Marine species always feature quite highly because of the commodity profile in the Pacific.
• Distributed shark fin Identification guides (provided by Pew Environment Group) in the Pacific region

Partners in New Zealand:Ministry for Primary Industries, Customs Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Partner Countries:Various agencies that work on border/fisheries/CITES issues: Environment, Quarantine, Fisheries, Customs, Police, Aviation Security, etc.

Other partners:IFAW, Oceania Customs Organization

Funding: >NZ$400,000 (self-funded)

September 2013 - August 2014:The target sub-regions:

• Organize training workshops on species identification and their fins
• Provide training on monitoring of catches on ships and fishing boats and on the landing facilities (equipment, means of subsistence and travel)
• Continue ongoing biological and ecological studies on the species that are the subject of the COP 16 measures, (fecundity, productivity and nurseries areas, growth, etc.)
• Strengthen the legislations in the area of conservation of sharks and rays
• Support the coordination of the SRFC Sharks program to implement the activities to be undertaken.

This all with the overall aim to strengthen capacities of the technicians working on the field to effectively include the target species in Appendix II. 

Partners: Institut Mauritanien de Recherches Océanographiques et des Pêches(IMROP), Parc National du Banc d’Arguin (PNBA-Mauritania), Centre de Recherches Océanographiques de Dakar Thiaroye (CRODT-Sénégal), Institut Universitaire des Pêches et d’Aquaculture(IUPA-Senegal), Centre National des Sciences Halieutiques de Boussoura(CNSHB Guinea), IUCN, Fondation Internationale du Banc d’Arguin (FIBA), Points focaux CITES et requins, (possibly: NOAA, WCS, Sharks Advocate)

April 2013 – September 2014:

The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) is in contact with scientists to retrieve reference samples that may also be used to determine species identification in enforcement cases. The aim is to obtain:

• Sharks tissues (as reference samples)
• Sequencing primers and protocols for DNA analyses (species-specific PCR, barcoding) by the AVA veterinary Public Health Laboratory
• Random specimens from imported shark’s fin consignments may be collected for DNA analysis and comparison with reference samples to confirm species. 

Partners:School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, Stony Book University

CL, Sphyma spp., Rhincodon typus, (possibly tiburo) 

On-going since 2005:

St Helena has a marine sighting scheme to record unusual species sightings and also cetacean/shark sightings.

October 2013:

Marine biodiversity and mapping project (funded by Darwin and JNCC). Marine conservation officer from St Helena will present national whale shark data at a conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The aim is to collaborate with other experts to draft a policy paper on whale sharks and thereby ensure tourist encounters with the species are well managed.

Partners: Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Darwin initiative

Funding: £164k funded by JNCC and Darwin Initiative (biodiversity mapping project).  Funding sought for additional research projects.

United Kingdom

Partners:N/A

September 2013:

Workshop to Strengthen the Capacity of Authorities to Conduct CITES Non-Detriment Findings, El Salvador

March 2014:

Partners:Central America Fisheries and Aquaculture Organization (OSPECA)

Funding: US$ 40,000 (self-funded)

Alternative funding sources will be explored for Nicaragua and Belize.

EU-CITES support provided to cover participation costs of some countries

US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

December 2013:

Providing funds to cover a third of the costs of a workshop to be hosted by Brazil.  The workshop aims to assist CITES Parties in Latin America with implementation of the shark listings that were adopted at CoP16 through the provision of tools and training.

Early 2014 (date to be determined):

Partners:N/A

Funding:not specified

30 August 2013:

Compiling a toolkit of existing information from a variety of sources to assist CITES Parties in implementing the Appendix II listings. The toolkit should contain:

Guidance on implementation options

• Information on how Parties conduct Non-Detriment Findings (NDF) for these species
• Product identification information (for fins, trunks, meat, gill plates, etc.)
• Information on DNA techniques for spot testing of processed fins
• Information on legal acquisition finding, significant trade process, and data submission requirements

Pew plans to make this toolkit available to interested CITES Parties through:

• Workshops
• Regional meetings
• Direct work with governments during the implementation period.

Partners:The Pew Charitable Trust is an international observer to CITES and a member of several Animals and Standing Committee working groups.