CITES Calendar

The purpose of the Working Party on Ecosystems and Bycatch (WPEB) of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) is, among others, to review and analyse matters relating to non-target species that are caught in IOTC fisheries, including CITES-listed shark species. This technical meeting was attended by 38 experts from 18 countries.

The CITES Secretariat delivered a presentation to highlight the opportunity for collaboration between CITES and the IOTC to support CPCs that are also CITES parties in implementing the recent listing of species of shark on Appendix II of CITES, in particular oceanic whitetip shark and hammerhead sharks. A small working group was established to determine areas  contained within  the WPEB Program of Work, that could be the focus of a collaboration. The report of the meeting is available here.

See also:

• IOTC page

At the sidelines of the 28th meeting of the CITES Animals Committee the CITES Secretariat in collaboration with FAO organised a side-event to highlight the variety of capacity building activities in response to the inclusion of several species of shark and all manta ray species in Appendix 2 at COP 16 in Bangkok 2013, and the subsequent entry into force of these listings on 14 September 2014. An overview of the activities can be found in the brochure "Implementing CITES Listings of Sharks and Manta Rays 2013-2016". The side event was well attended with 40+ participants, including members of the committee, observer parties and observers from the civil society.

See also:

• Press release
• CITES presentation (ppt)
• FAO presentation (ppt)
• About AC28

• Ordre du jour et documents
• Documents de la session
• Compte rendu résumé
• Résumés des séances
• Documents d'information
• Liste finale des participants
• Compte-rendu et analyse par ENB

The FAO Expert Consultation on Catch Documentation Schemes (CDSs) was convened at the request of the thirty-first session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) and brought together an international panel with relevant expertise and experience in the design and implementation of CDSs and related systems with the aim to produce draft voluntary guidelines for CDSs.

The CITES Secretariat delivered a presentation on the CITES community's experience in harmonizing permits, electronic permitting and traceability systems and on CITES provisions relevant to the consultations, in particular Introduction from the Sea. The report of the meeting and the resulting draft voluntary guidelines can be found here.

See also:

• Agenda

This workshop was part of a series of regional workshops to build capacity for and promote the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures Port State Measures to Combat IUU Fishing (PSMA). The workshop included presentations on the role of other multilateral bodies and their role in combating IUU fishing and scenario exercises during which the participants from many countries in the West Africa region explored the implications of the PSMA for a real world example.

While not physically present at the workshop, the CITES Secretariat contributed a presentation on existing CITES provisions on Introduction from the Sea and possible synergies with the entry into force of the FAO PSMA, which was held by FAO on behalf of CITES. For more details on Introduction from the Sea, see the Standard Presentation on Introduction from the Sea on the CITES shark portal. The report of the workshop is forthcoming and will be available here.

See also:

• Agenda and prospectus
• FAO page

Upon invitation by the Costa Rican Scientific authority, CITES Secretariat attended a national workshop on developing an NDF for CITES-listed hammerhead shark species and, as appropriate, provided assistance to participants on the relevant CITES provisions. The attendants included the relevant Costa Rican government institutions, stakeholders from the fisheries and exporter sector as well as civil society organizations.