Symposium on Combating Wildlife Crime: Securing Enforcement, Ensuring Justice and Upholding the Rule of Law Queen Sirikit National Convention Center Bangkok, Thailand March 2013 Symposium on Combating Wildlife Crime: Securing Enforcement, Ensuring Justice and Upholding the Rule of Law Queen Sirikit National Convention Center Bangkok, Thailand March 2013 Key Illicitly and Illegally Traded Species: Sharks and Mantas Fabio Hazin, Universidade Federal Rural of Pernambuco, Brazil

What is finning and when the fin trade is illegal ? Shark Finning == Rhinoceros and elephant poaching 1/8

Shark finning is a wasteful use of precious species which have a very low productivity and high vulnerability Shark finning has been therefore condemned and prohibited by several RFMOs and Countries worldwide = 2/8

Regulations About 70 States and 10 RFMOs have banned shark finning! ( e.g.: ( e.g.: ICCAT, GFCM, IOTC, IATTC, NAFO, SEAFO, WCPFC, CCAMLR, NEAFC ) Most fin x body ratio (5%): open to interpretation and difficult to enforce  raw x dried fins; species; fin sets; etc... More recently, several countries are adopting fins attached: e.g.: Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, EU, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, USA Others have adopted a ban on shark fishing: e.g.: Palau, French Polynesia, the Maldives, Honduras, Bahamas, the Marshall Islands Or a ban on the export of shark fins: Equador 3/8 X

4/8 ICCAT as an RFMO example What ICCAT- the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has done to protect sharks? Prohibited to retain onboard, tranship, land, store, sell, or offer for sale any part or whole carcass of the following shark species: Bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosus (2009; Rec ); Bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosus (2009; Rec ); Oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus) (2010; Rec ); Oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus) (2010; Rec ); Hammerheads*, Sphyrna spp. (except S. tiburo) (2010; Rec ); Hammerheads*, Sphyrna spp. (except S. tiburo) (2010; Rec ); Silky shark*, Carcharhinus falciformis (2011; Rec ). Silky shark*, Carcharhinus falciformis (2011; Rec ). * In the case of the hammerheads and the silky shark, developing coastal States are exempted from this prohibition, on the condition that they are used only for local consumption and do not enter international trade! ** The catch of all other species is conditioned to the submission of data

5/8 Where the fins go ? The Oceanic whitetip and the hammerheads are proposed at CITES CoP 16 for Appendix II Listing  It would greatly help the enforcement of ICCAT (and other RFMOs) measures  It would improve the availability of data on trade and consequently on catches, worldwide  It would significantly improve the management of the fishery ensuring its sustainability Mainly to Hong Kong and associated markets!

6/8 Brazil as a Country example Brazilian legislation on finning: 1) Portaria IBAMA 121, 24/08/1998  Ban on finning, based on a 5% fins x body ratio  Upon landings, the weights of fins and carcasses have to be measured and informed to the environmental agency (IBAMA) in a specific form… The lack of compliance with this measure has led to several apprehensions of fins, which documents of origin were not available… 2) Interministerial Normative Instruction No. 14, 26/11/2012  Ban on finning, based on the mandatory landing of sharks with all fins totally or partially naturally attached to the body  Ban on finning, based on the mandatory landing of sharks with all fins totally or partially naturally attached to the body  Prohibition of transshipment of sharks # Much easier to implement and to enforce #

7/8 Although the shark finning and the consequently illegal fin trade is still a very serious problem worldwide, the international community seems to be moving in the right direction... The approval of the shark proposals in CITES Appendix II during CoP 16 would be a quite significant help to ensure the proper monitoring of the fin trade and consequently the sustainability of these species worldwide will

Manta Ray Gill Plate Trade 9 Dried gill plate from large Manta Ray Photo: Paul Hilton Manta Ray landed for its gill plates Gill plates from a large Manta Ray retail for up to US$ 680 per kg. High value gives incentive for poaching in Marine Protected Areas and the waters of countries that protect Manta Rays. Enforcement becomes more difficult and expensive. The listing of Manta Rays in CITES Appendix II would greatly help to improve the gathering of trade data and consequently to ensure the proper management and conservation of this iconic species 8/8

A H K R S S T N M A NYTAS &