Medidas de Gestao das Pescarias Marinhas e Aquicultura 2019 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 | Page 121

THE STATE OF WORLD FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 2018
new listings added to Appendix II (species whose
trade may be authorized through permits if the
relevant authorities are satisfied that it will not
be detrimental to the sur vival of the species in
the wild) include 20 commercially exploited shark
and ray species, 1 ornamental fish species and
1 invertebrate species.
are integrated within broader fisheries
management frameworks and follow good
practices with regard to participator y approaches,
especially for small-scale fisheries (FAO, 2017k).
Management and conservation of threatened
species
Supporting countries in CITES implementation and
species listing amendment processes
Although species extinctions in the oceans are
markedly lower than on land (McCauley et al.,
2015), FAO works with its Members, regional
fisher y bodies and partners to respond to
recognized biodiversit y threats across marine and
freshwater realms. Species become threatened for
a range of reasons which include overfishing of
target stocks and impact of fishing activit y on
non–commercially exploited stocks. FAO helps
countries respond to such situations, largely
through strengthening of national and regional
fisheries management and conser vation measures
to rebuild stocks or avoid interactions with
fishing. These activities cross areas of
governance, management of fishing effort, stock
assessments, market measures and work on
related socio-cultural values.
Both FAO and CITES recognize sustainable use
of aquatic resources as part of their respective
strategic visions. Under a Memorandum of
Understanding signed in 2006, they work
together to advise on listing of aquatic species
and to strengthen implementation of
management of species already listed in CITES
appendices. As the UN Agency with
responsibilities for fisheries, FAO is mandated in
the CITES convention text (Art. X V 2b) to provide
expert advice on whether commercially exploited
aquatic species meet the CITES listing criteria.
COFI has endorsed the setting up of an FAO/
International Union for Conser vation of Nature
(IUCN) joint technical working group to
encourage cooperation among all the main
stakeholders to promote better understanding of,
and complementarit y among, the various criteria
used to define species as threatened (i.e. CITES
criteria, IUCN Red List and Red List Index
criteria). FAO, through its Expert Advisor y Panel
for the Assessment of Proposals to Amend CITES
Appendices I and II, brings together experts on
fisheries management, aquatic species and trade
to determine if a species proposed for a listing
amendment meets specific criteria to warrant a
change in its status. This panel also advises on
the merits of each species proposal in terms of
the likely effectiveness of a CITES listing for its
conser vation.
In its efforts to secure sustainabilit y of
threatened stocks, FAO collaborates with the 182
Parties of the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), a multilateral treat y that aims to ensure
that international trade does not threaten the
sur vival of species in the wild. CITES puts in
place specific binding reg ulations for the export
and import of the species listed in its appendices,
including aquatic (marine and freshwater)
species, to help control their international trade.
Species can be listed under one of three
appendices, each with concomitant provisions
(ranging from permit requirements, for species
that are not now threatened with extinction, to
prohibition of trade for the most endangered
species) that countries need to ser vice to comply
with CITES (CITES, 2017).
FAO is currently working with countries to raise
awareness on species that have been suggested
for listing amendments at the next Conference of
the Parties to CITES, which will be held in
Colombo, Sri Lanka in May 2019 (for species
examples, see FAO, 2017l). FAO has also asked
the CITES Secretariat to inter vene where it can to
ensure that the process for consideration of
aquatic species listing amendments offers fair
and considered advice for its voting Parties. This
Up until 1994, relatively few aquatic species were
listed in the CITES appendices (for example, less
than 150 fish species as compared with over 3 000
species of mammals, birds and reptiles and more
than 30 000 species of f lora). More recently,
CITES Parties have shown greater willingness to
put trade controls on marine species; since 2013,
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