Year of the Frog - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

eaza news 61
2008 collection planning
12
The impact of CITES on species
management in aquariums
Heather Koldewey and Rachel Jones, Zoological Society of London, United Kingdom
Public aquariums trade in relatively small numbers of animals, particularly when compared to commercial
food fisheries or even the hobbyist trade. However, a number of species that are kept in public aquariums are
increasingly threatened by international trade and aquariums have a responsibility to support any measures
that contribute to conservation of these species in the wild.
The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES)
seeks to regulate international trade to ensure that this trade is not
threatening wild populations. Zoos and aquariums have worked with
CITES listed species for many years and are familiar with the process of
dealing with CITES paperwork as an intrinsic part of many international
animal moves. This has been a smaller element of the work of public
aquariums that is now changing, with a growing list of species that are
kept in public aquariums coming under international trade regulation
(see table 1).
Large group of customs confiscated Hippocampus reidi
Starting with seahorses
In November 2002, seahorses became the first fully marine fish species
of commercial value to be listed on CITES Appendix II. With millions
of seahorses being traded on an annual basis, it appeared likely that
international trade was contributing to the observed population declines.
CITES was a widely recognised mechanism to monitor the apparently
expanding trade and its impacts on wild populations, although it had
not previously been utilised for marine fish.
Traditionally, marine fish came under fisheries management, so this
represented a major shift in policy. Having achieved the result for
seahorses, other marine fishes were also listed in the same CITES 12th Conference of the Parties (CoP) (e.g. basking sharks and whale sharks).
In the 14th CoP in The Hague in June 2007, the entire family of sawfishes
were listed under Appendix I, with the specific exception of Pristis microdon.
Catalaphyllia jardenei photos rachel jones
This species was listed on Appendix II for the exclusive purpose of
allowing international trade in live animals to appropriate and acceptable
aquariums for primarily conservation purposes. Public aquariums supported
this proposal, with the European Union of Aquarium Curators sending a
letter to endorse the proposed Appendix I listing of the entire sawfish
family and actively campaigning alongside conservation non-government
organisations.
Complex coral taxonomy
Marine invertebrates also receive extensive protection under CITES with
all hard coral species (over 2,000) listed on Appendix II – the last genus to
be added was the pink coral Corallium spp. which joined the list in 2007.
The international trade in live coral for the hobbyist market constitutes
millions of animals moved across the globe each year – the biggest
exporter is Indonesia and the biggest importer is the United States of
America, although the European Union is a rapidly growing market.
Collection pressures may be intense locally where many more colonies are
discarded than are selected for distribution by the dealers. Particularly
popular species in the market include the large-polyped corals and these
are precisely the species with the highest mortality rates from the transit
process. The complex taxonomy of corals can make it very difficult for customs
authorities to identify the incoming shipments and public aquarium
professionals can play a role in assisting them with this important task.
A sustainable trade
CITES Appendix I species can be traded for non-commercial purposes
as part of managed conservation breeding programmes. It is the role
of the EAZA Fish and Aquatic Invertebrate TAG (FAITAG) to develop
appropriate programmes for these species. This is currently being planned
for the species of sawfish in European aquariums (Pristis zijsron).
CITES seeks to achieve sustainable international trade in Appendix II
species by requiring exporting parties to restrict trade in Appendix II
species to levels that are not detrimental either to species’ survival or to
their role within the ecosystems in which they occur (known as the ‘nondetriment
finding’). Non-detriment findings must be filed prior to being
granted an export permit as they certify that the exports will not threaten
the survival of the species in the wild.