Report of the fourth FAO Expert Advisory Panel for the Assessment

169 Pages·2013·1.85 MB·English

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1032 FIRF/R1032 (En)
ISSN 2070-6987

Report of the
FOURTH FAO EXPERT ADVISORY PANEL FOR THE ASSESSMENT
OF PROPOSALS TO AMEND APPENDICES I AND II OF CITES
CONCERNING COMMERCIALLY-EXPLOITED AQUATIC SPECIES

Rome, 3−8 December 2012
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FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1032 FIRF/R1032 (En)

Report of the
FOURTH FAO EXPERT ADVISORY PANEL FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSALS TO AMEND
APPENDICES I AND II OF CITES CONCERNING COMMERCIALLY-EXPLOITED AQUATIC SPECIES

Rome, 3–8 December 2012

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Rome, 2013
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iii

Preparation of this document

This is the report of the Fourth FAO Expert Advisory Panel for the Assessment of Proposals to
Amend Appendices I and II of CITES Concerning Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species, held at
FAO headquarters from 3 to 8 December 2012.
The meeting of the Panel was funded by FAO Regular Programme and by the Governments of
Germany, Japan and New Zealand.
The figures presented in this document are reproduced as they appear in the source materials from
which they were obtained, hence the variability in terms of languages, image quality and labelling
conventions
iv

FAO. 2013.
Report of the fourth FAO Expert Advisory Panel for the Assessment of Proposals to Amend
Appendices I and II of CITES Concerning Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species, Rome,
3–8 December 2012.
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. R1032. Rome, FAO. 161 pp.

Abstract

The fourth FAO Expert Advisory Panel for the Assessment of Proposals to Amend Appendices I and
II of CITES Concerning Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species was held at FAO headquarters from
3 to 8 December 2012. The Panel was convened in response to the agreement by the twenty-fifth
session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) on the terms of reference for an expert advisory
panel for assessment of proposals to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and to the endorsement of the twenty-sixth session of COFI to
convene the Panel for relevant proposals to future CITES Conference of the Parties.
The objectives of the Panel were to:
 assess each proposal from a scientific perspective in accordance with the CITES biological
listing criteria (Resolution Conf. 9.24 [Rev. CoP13];
 comment, as appropriate, on technical aspects of the proposal in relation to biology, ecology,
trade and management issues, as well as, to the extent possible, the likely effectiveness for
conservation.
The Panel co nsidered the following seven proposal s submitted to the sixteen th Conference of th e
Parties to CITES:
 CoP16 Prop. 42. Proposal to include Carcharhinus longimanus (oceanic whitetip shark) in
Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a).
 CoP16 Prop. 43. Inclusion of Sphyrna lewini in Appendix II in accordance with Article II 2(a)
and inclusio n of S. mokarran and S. zygaena in Appendix II in accordance wi th
Article II 2(b).
 CoP16 Prop. 44. Inclusion of Lamna nasus (Bonnaterre, 1788) in Appendix II in accordance
with Article II 2(a).
 CoP16 Prop. 45. Transfer of Pristis microdon from Appendix II to Appendix I of CITES in
accordance with Article II, paragraph 1.
 CoP16 Prop. 46. Inclusion of the genus Manta in Appendix II in accordance with Article II
paragraph 2(a)
 CoP16 Prop. 47. Inclusion of the ceja river stingray (Paratrygon aiereba) in Appendix II in
accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a).
 CoP16 Pr op. 48. Inclusi on of the freshwater stingra ys Potamotrygon motoro and
P. schroederi in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a).
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Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE EXPERT ADVISORY PANEL ...................................................................... 1 
THE PANEL MEETING .......................................................................................................................................... 1 
OUTCOME OF THE MEETING .............................................................................................................................. 2 
1. Evaluation of the proposals .................................................................................................................. 2 
2. General comments and observations ................................................................................................... 3 
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 
FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: oceanic whitetip shark - CoP16 Proposal 42 - .. 7 
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 7 
DETAILED PANEL ASSESSMENT .......................................................................................................................... 8 
1. Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria ............................................ 8 
2. Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation issues ....... 15 
3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 18 
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 20 
TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... 23 
FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: scalloped hammerhead shark, great
hammerhead shark and smooth hammerhead shark - CoP16 Proposal 43 - ................... 31 
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 31 
DETAILED PANEL ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................................ 32 
1. Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria .......................................... 32 
2. Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation issues ....... 38 
3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 42 
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 43 
TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... 47 
FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: porbeagle shark - CoP16 Proposal 44 - ........... 61 
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 61 
DETAILED PANEL ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................................ 63 
1. Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria .......................................... 63 
2. Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation issues ....... 70 
3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 75 
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 77 
TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... 80 
FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: freshwater sawfish - CoP16 Proposal 45 - ....... 93 
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 93 
DETAILED PANEL ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................................ 94 
1. Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria .......................................... 94 
2. Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation issues ....... 97 
3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 99 
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 99 
TABLES AND FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... 101
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FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: manta rays - CoP16 Proposal 46 - ................ 105 
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 105 
DETAILED PANEL ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................................... 106 
1. Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria ........................................ 106 
2. Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation issues ..... 112 
3. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 114 
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................... 115 
TABLES AND FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... 117 
FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: ceja river stingray - CoP16 Proposal 47 - .... 121 
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 121 
DETAILED PANEL ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................................... 122 
1. Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria ........................................ 122 
2. Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation issues ..... 125 
3. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 127 
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................... 128 
TABLES AND FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... 130 
FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: ocellate river stingray and rosette river
stingray - CoP16 Proposal 48 - ............................................................................................ 133 
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 133 
DETAILED PANEL ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................................... 134 
1. Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria ........................................ 134 
2. Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation issues ..... 138 
3. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 142 
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................... 142 
TABLES AND FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... 145 
Appendix A Terms of reference for an “Ad Hoc Expert Advisory Panel for Assessment of
Proposals to CITES” ............................................................................................................ 147 
Appendix B Agenda ......................................................................................................................... 153 
Appendix C List of participants ...................................................................................................... 155 
Appendix D SC 62 Doc.39: Criteria for the inclusion of species in appendices I and II ............ 159 
Appendix E Extract from a FAO proposal for the 2017 revision of the Harmonized System
of the World Customs Organization .................................................................................. 161
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Abbreviations and acronyms

CCAMLR Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CMS Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks
COFI FAO Committee on Fisheries
CPUE catch per unit of effort
DW disc width
EC European Commission
EEZ exclusive economic zone
GFCM General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean
IATTC Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
ICCAT International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
ICES International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
IFS Introduction from the Sea (provisions of CITES)
IOTC Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
IPOA-Sharks International Plan of Action for Conservation and Management of Sharks
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature
IUU illegal, unreported and unregulated (fishing)
NAFO Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization
NDF non-detriment finding
NEAFC North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission
NPOA-Sharks National Plan of Action for Conservation and Management of Sharks
QSCP Queensland Shark Control Program
RFMO regional fisheries management organization
SCRS Standing Committee on Research and Statistics
SRFC Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission
SEAFDEC Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center
SEAFO Southeast Atlantic Fisheries Organization
TAC total allowable catch
TL total length
WCO World Customs Organization
WCPFC Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
WPEB Working Party on Ecosystems and Bycatch