Notification to the Parties

CONCERNING:

Implementation of Resolution Conf. 8.9 (Rev.)

Recommendations of the Standing Committee

1. In Notification to the Parties No. 2001/043 of 9 July 2001, the Secretariat informed the Parties of the States that had not implemented recommendations of the Animals Committee made in accordance with Resolution Conf. 8.9 (Rev.) and with respect to which the Standing Committee recommended that all Parties suspend imports of specimens of a particular species.

2. At its 45th meeting, the Standing Committee adopted recommendations regarding the Caspian Sea stocks of Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. nudiventris, A. stellatus and Huso huso of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan. These recommendations are presented in Annex 1.

3. The Standing Committee agreed that for stocks in the Black Sea (and the Azov Sea) of Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. nudiventris, A. stellatus and Huso huso of Bulgaria, Romania and the Russian Federation, it would recommend a total suspension of all imports of specimens of these species from the countries concerned if, by the end of February 2002, they have not established an agreement for the cooperative management of sturgeon fisheries in the Black Sea and implemented all other recommendations of the Animals Committee, and that further exports in 2001 be restricted to no more than 75 per cent of the export quotas published by the Secretariat for 2001. Concerning the export quotas of the Russian Federation for the Azov Sea, the amount that may be exported is 75 per cent of the export quotas published in Notification to the Parties No. 2001/042 after deducting the amount registered with the Secretariat relating to the quotas for the year 2000.

4. The Standing Committee also agreed that, for Amur River stocks of Acipenser schrencki and Huso dauricus of China and the Russian Federation, no further action was required until the end of February 2002 provided that no further harvesting is done in 2001.

5. The Standing Committee has recommended that all Parties suspend imports of specimens of the species indicated from each State listed in Annex 2 until the Committee is satisfied that appropriate action has been taken to dispel the concerns raised by the Animals Committee. The Standing Committee made these recommendations because it considered that the provisions of Article IV, paragraphs 2 (a) and 3, were not being adequately implemented by the countries concerned for the species mentioned.

6. At its 45th meeting, the Standing Committee recommended that by 20 July 2001, certain Parties should submit additional responses to recommendations by the Animals Committee and that, if no satisfactory response was received, it would recommend that imports of specimens of the species concerned from the State in question be suspended. A partial response was received from Mozambique, and consequently Annex 2 has been amended accordingly.

7. Also at its 45th meeting, the Standing Committee recommended that all Parties suspend imports of specimens of Saiga tatarica from Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. Consequently these two countries have been added to the list in Annex 2 for the species concerned.

8. The Secretariat will notify the Parties when the Standing Committee withdraws its recommendations regarding any of the States and species listed in Annex 2.

9. The present Notification replaces Notification to the Parties No. 2001/043.

Annex 1

Recommendations adopted by the Standing Committee at its 45th meeting,
regarding Caspian Sea stocks of Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. nudiventris,
A. stellatus and Huso huso

Taking account of the commitments made at a meeting in Geneva on 12-13 June 2001 by four States that conduct commercial fishing of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, the Standing Committee recommends a suspension of all imports of specimens of these species from the Caspian Sea stocks of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan if the Secretariat has not been able to verify that they have done the following:

Actions to be implemented before 20 July 2001

a) Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation have:

i) informed the Secretariat of all stocks of specimens intended for export that are currently held from sturgeons harvested in the spring of 2001 only, indicating the amounts of all types of specimens for each species separately;

ii) agreed to restrict further exports in 2001 to the amounts of stocks referred to in subparagraph i), provided that such amounts do not exceed the quotas published in Notification to the Parties No. 2001/005 and amendments to these quotas that the Secretariat has accepted based on the quotas established by the Commission on Aquatic Bioresources of the Caspian Sea; and

iii) agreed to suspend all commercial harvesting for the remainder of 2001 as a demonstration of their commitment to the long-term conservation of sturgeons;

b) Turkmenistan has confirmed in writing to the Secretariat that it will undertake the actions specified in paragraphs c)-e); and

c) Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan have agreed to facilitate the verification by the Secretariat of undertakings specified in paragraphs a)-e) including the issuance of multi-entry visas to facilitate the work of the verification teams.

Actions to be implemented before 31 December 2001

d) Without prejudice to the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation (and Turkmenistan where appropriate) have:

i) agreed an appropriate mechanism for the establishment and implementation of a common policy for the conservation and utilization of sturgeon resources involving all countries exploiting sturgeons in the Caspian Sea,^* which shall be the basis of coordinated management of shared sturgeon resources (including the establishment of catch and export quotas for 2002);

ii) conducted a comprehensive survey of sturgeon stocks in the Caspian Sea involving representatives of all States that conduct commercial fishing of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea; and

iii) requested Interpol to conduct an analysis of illegal trade in sturgeons, and requested the CITES Secretariat, in collaboration with Interpol and WCO, to conduct a study of enforcement needs for implementing CITES and measures in national legislation aimed at combating illegal harvesting and trade; and

iv) noted that the failure to implement subparagraphs d) i)-iii) before the end of 2001 will result in the Secretariat not accepting any catch or export quotas for sturgeons from these countries for 2002; and

Actions to be implemented before 20 June 2002

e) Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation (and Turkmenistan where appropriate) have:

i) established a long-term survey programme as the basis for future management of sturgeon stocks in the Caspian Sea, incorporating up-to-date technology and techniques, and taking account of advice from FAO and other bodies as appropriate;

ii) requested FAO to provide advice concerning the operations of regional fisheries management organizations, the management of shared fish resources and dealing with unregulated fisheries;

iii) adopted a collaborative basin-level management system for sturgeon fisheries in the Caspian Sea as the basis for sustainable commercial exports of sturgeons, taking into account the advice referred to in subparagraph e) ii);

iv) significantly increased efforts to combat illegal harvesting and illegal trade, and to regulate domestic trade;

v) made samples of sturgeon specimens available for DNA testing and established priorities for further research on the identification of sturgeon stocks and specimens in trade;

vi) submitted a funding proposal to the Global Environmental Fund, or other donors as appropriate, for the rehabilitation of sturgeon stocks, hatcheries and restocking programmes, and for support for stock assessments, marking systems, identification of specimens in trade, public awareness and enforcement;

vii) implemented the caviar labelling system established in Resolution Conf. 11.13 for all exports; and

viii) fully implemented all other recommendations of the Animals Committee made in accordance with Resolution Conf. 8.9 (Rev.).

Annex 2

Standing Committee’s recommendations to all Parties to suspend imports
of specimens of the species indicated from each State listed

Party/non-Party	Species	Date of recommendation	Additional conditions and remarks
Antigua and Barbuda	Strombus gigas	SC41, February 1999
Argentina	Lama guanicoe	SC29, March 1993	On the condition that all permits are confirmed by the Secretariat before being accepted by the country of import, the suspension does not apply to: a) specimens that form part of the registered stock in Argentina;
		SC41, February 1999	b) products obtained from the shearing of live animals carried out under the approved management programme, appropriately marked and registered; and
			c) non-commercial exports of limited quantities of wool for industrial testing, up to 500 kg annually.
Barbados	Strombus gigas	SC41, February 1999
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Hippopotamus amphibius	SC45, June 2001
	Poicephalus robustus	SC45, June 2001
	Geochelone pardalis	SC45, June 2001
Dominica	Strombus gigas	SC41, February 1999
Indonesia	Cacatua sulphurea	SC30, September 1993
	Ptyas mucosus	SC30, September 1993
		SC41, February 1999	The suspension does not apply to 102,285 marked skins acquired before the current trade prohibition entered into force on the following conditions: a) the export of the skins should not be permitted unless the Secretariat confirms receipt of a copy of the export permit concerned issued by the Management Authority of Indonesia; and b) import of specimens from this registered stockpile should be permitted only after confirmation of the validity of the Indonesian export permit by the Secretariat.
Kazakhstan	Saiga tatarica	SC45, June 2001
Lithuania	Lynx lynx	SC29, March 1993
Madagascar	Coracopsis vasa	SC32, November 1994
	Chamaeleo spp. (except Chamaeleo lateralis, C. oustaleti, C. pardalis and C. verrucosus)	SC32, November 1994
	Phelsuma spp. (except P. laticauda, P. lineata, P. madagascariensis, P. quadriocellata)	SC32, November 1994
Malawi	Hippopotamus amphibius	SC45, June 2001
Mali	Poicephalus robustus	SC45, June 2001
Mozambique	Cordylus tropidosternum	SC45, June 2001
Nicaragua	Dendrobates auratus	SC45, June 2001
	Dendrobates pumilio	SC45, June 2001
Peru	Aratinga erythrogenys	SC29, March 1993
Republic of Moldova	Lynx lynx	SC29, March 1993
Russian Federation	Saiga tatarica	SC45, June 2001
Rwanda	Hippopotamus amphibius	SC45, June 2001
Saint Lucia	Strombus gigas	SC41, February 1999
Solomon Islands	Corucia zebrata	SC45, June 2001
	Ornithoptera urvillianus	SC32, November 1994
	Ornithoptera victoriae	SC32, November 1994
Suriname	Dendrobates tinctorius	SC45, June 2001
Togo	Poicephalus robustus	SC45, June 2001
Trinidad and Tobago	Strombus gigas	SC41, February 1999
Turkey	Acipenser gueldenstaedtii	SC45, June 2001
	Acipenser nudiventris	SC45, June 2001
	Acipenser stellatus	SC45, June 2001
	Huso huso	SC45, June 2001
Ukraine	Lynx lynx	SC29, March 1993
United Republic of Tanzania	Agapornis fischeri	SC29, March 1993
	Poicephalus cryptoxanthus	SC32, November 1994
	Poicephalus meyeri	SC32, November 1994
	Poicephalus rufiventris	SC32, November 1994
	Tauraco fischeri	SC32, November 1994
	Geochelone pardalis	SC32, November 1994	This suspension does not apply to specimens of this species produced from ranching/captive-breeding operations, for which the level of annual export quotas has to be agreed between the Management Authority and the Secretariat.
	Malacochersus tornieri	SC29, March 1993	This suspension does not apply to specimens of this species produced from ranching/captive-breeding operations, for which the level of annual export quotas has to be agreed between the Management Authority and the Secretariat.
	Gongylophis colubrinus	SC32, November 1994	This suspension does not apply to specimens of this species produced from ranching/captive-breeding operations, for which the level of annual export quotas has to be agreed between the Management Authority and the Secretariat.