Highlights for Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Working groups met throughout the day.
The Working Group on RST discussed Madagascar’s proposed 2009 quotas for
Mantella spp. (golden frogs) agreeing to,
inter alia: recommend a zero 2009 export quota for
M. crocea,
M. expectata, and
M. viridis; and eliminate
M. milotympanum from the RST based on the proposed zero export quota for 2009. The Working Group also agreed, among others, to: enter Grey and Black Crowned Cranes (
Balearica Regulorum and
B. Pavonina) into the RST; and request the Secretariat to write a letter to the Solomon Islands asking for clarification about its possible export of wild specimens of Tridacnidae (giant clams) and, if exporting is occurring, to explain the basis of its NDF.
The Working Group on NDFs continued discussions about how to address PC18's recommendations on the International Expert Workshop on NDFs. Working Group participants focused discussions on: elements for a notification to the parties which would solicit comments about the proceedings of the Workshop; and content for possible CoP decisions on the issue. On the notification, participants agreed to nominate Richard Bagine (Kenya) and Zhou Zhihua (China) to join the two PC nominees to receive comments on the Workshop. The Working Group could not reach consensus on the merits of a resolution at this stage and, instead drafted a set of decisions to take the work forward after CoP15.
The Working Group on Sharks agreed to draft a recommendation to address cooperation with CMS, FAO and regional fisheries management organizations(RFMOs), with a view to avoid duplication of work. The group discussed the illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) shark fishing report, with one participant noting that the report’s statements were not based on facts and evidence but rather on anecdotes. Others said that responsible shark management is closely related to responsible trade and if there is insufficient information on these issues provided by countries, one might conclude that fishing is derived from IUU. Another participant emphasized that its region is not ready to lower catch of species related to the shark fin market. The Group also: agreed to draft a recommendation on the issues; discussed options regarding activities on shark species of concern and a possible future CITES listing; and began assessing the list of species of concern.