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Giant Guitarfish (Rhynchobatus djiddensis). © Matt D. Potenski
Trichechus senegalensis. © Tomas Diagne / Oceanium Dakar
members to determine whether proposals meet the criteria
for listing. Other SSG members were involved in the FAO ad
hoc technical working group that reviews the proposals. The
full IUCN/TRAFFIC analysis can be found here. Details of
the FAO Assessment of the CITES Proposals are available
here.
Seven species of shark and ray were listed on CITES
Appendices: Oceanic Whitetip Shark, three Hammerhead
species, two Manta Rays, and with the uplisting of Pristis
microdon, all sawfishes are now listed in Appendix I. With the
EU Red List Office, the SSG began re-assessing all 143
European sharks and rays. We published the North American
regional Red List report which received considerable media
uptake, particularly in North and South America.
Nick Dulvy was invited to contribute to a Calgary Shark Fin
Task Force, co-chaired by Aldermen Farrell and Pincott,
including Shark Fin Free Calgary, the Calgary Zoo, and
representatives from the community; with the goal of achieving
meaningful civic action on the issue of shark finning. Both
Chairs reviewed all Save Our Species applications for the
“Sharks and Rays” call. Nick Dulvy won funds to undertake a
scoping project to start developing a global Conservation
Strategy for Manta and Devil Rays. A follow-on proposal was
submitted to Save Our Seas Foundation. Colin Simpfendorfer
won funds to develop national Shark and Ray report cards for
Australia; this process will enable us to reassess the Australian
and Oceania species. Simpfendorfer participated in a meeting
of Pacific nations to build capacity to deal with sharks listed by
CITES. This included training on the development of NDFs and
cooperative arrangements between nations.
The influence of the SSG continues to grow; we now have
5,129 Facebook and 2,297 Twitter followers. Our work was
made possible through the generous support of the Save Our
Seas Foundation, the US State Department, the Fisheries
Headquarters Program Office, US Department of Commerce
and the Mohammed bin Zayed Foundation Species
Conservation Fund.
Nick Dulvy and Colin Simpfendorfer
Co-chairs, Shark Specialist Group
Sirenia Specialist Group
The overarching goal of the Sirenia Specialist Group is to
promote effective conservation of all four species of sirenians
throughout their ranges, especially in developing range states.
To lead the development of regional goals and objectives, the
Sirenia Specialist Group has been re-organized into six
regions; South American Regional Group, Meso-America
Regional Group, United States Regional Group, West African
Regional Group, Indian Ocean Region Members, Pacific
Regional Group.
The Specialist Group hosted the sixth International Sirenian
Workshop at the 20th Biennial Meeting of the Society of
Marine Mammalogy in Dunedin, New Zealand in December
2013. The group newsletter Sirenews continues to be
published bi-annually. In March 2013, CITES approved the
transfer of the West African manatee from Appendix II to
Appendix I. Experts from the Sirenia Specialist Group
strengthened the final proposal. Twenty-five range states have
now signed the UNEP/CMS Dugong MOU. Co-chair Helene
Marsh attended the Second Signatory State Meeting (SS2) of
the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and
Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their
Range in Manila, Philippines, in February 2013. The GEF
Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project Document has
successfully undergone the UNEP Panel Review and is ready
for submission to the GEF Secretariat for GEF review and
endorsement.
One of the goals of the Sirenia Specialist Group is to
promote regional conservation actions of the Amazonian
manatee. In August 2013, Co-chair Benjamin Morales visited
the Centro de Rescate Amazónico (Rescue Amazonian
Center) (ACOBIA-DWAZOO) in Iquitos, Peru, to learn of their
Amazonian manatee recovery program and educational
programs. This visit provided an opportunity to talk with the
Centre Director Javier Velásquez, about developing regional
strategies to improve the regional coordination between
different institutions and NGOs, working on the conservation of
the Amazonian manatee and its habitat along the Amazonian
River. Morales also travelled to Puerto Narino in Colombia, to
talk with Sarita Kendall at the Natütama Center and to learn
about their educational programs. There was widespread
enthusiasm for a regional workshop to encourage new
collaborations between organizations. In November of 2013,
Javier Velásquez and Juan Sánchez from ACOBIA and Fabia
Luna from the National Center of Aquatic Mammal from Brazil
came to Mexico to share their experiences in manatee
conservation in captivity and reintroduction programs with
Mexican experts.
Specialist Groups, Task Forces and Red List Authorities
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