CITES
Posted by Willie — 25 April 2010 at 9:59am
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If you’ve seen the media reports on whales over the past couple of weeks, you could be forgiven for thinking that there had been some sort of historical deal done. A deal that seems to be being spun as a way to save whales, by allowing some to be hunted. Media spin aside, we’ve been keen to see the detail of what is going to be on the table for our governments at the upcoming International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in June.
Yesterday, at last, the speculation ended when the IWC published the details of a proposal on their website. The proposal is just that, a proposal. Not a deal, and certainly not a done deal. So please, view the over-effusive headlines with some care.
Posted by Willie — 6 April 2010 at 4:08pm
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Posted by Willie — 29 March 2010 at 6:11pm
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I've tried several times to write a 'wrap-up' blog for this year's CITES meeting. But usually I end up just banging my head against the keyboard in despair.
This CITES meeting was a turning point – the governments in the room decided that they weren't there to restrict trade to protect species, but rather there to protect trade as best they could. Nowhere was that more evident than the marine proposals.
Sharks were shafted, corals crushed, and bluefin obliterated, as the assembled governments played politics, and wrung their hands earnestly over the adverse economic effects of actually protecting any of these endangered species. Conveniently ignoring the fact that it's their inability to restrain trade which endangered them in the first place...
Posted by Willie — 22 March 2010 at 4:03pm
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Posted by Willie — 21 March 2010 at 7:39pm
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As iconic species go, the polar bear is quite literally
up there. They are emblematic of the top-most chunk of the planet, as well as
the emotive symbol of the effects of catastrophic climate change.
Polar bears are quite impressive. They are the
world’s largest land predator, and undoubted 'rulers' of
their ice kingdom. In popular culture they exist as cuddly toys, heroic fighters,
and fashion accessories for Lady GaGa (don’t
worry, I checked, it’s fake).
Posted by Willie — 19 March 2010 at 2:55pm
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A Steller's sea cow skeleton - first spotted by Europeans in 1741, they were driven to extinction within 30 years © CC Funkmonk
International co-operation is vital if we want to protect the plants and (particularly) animals that we share the planet with. They don't all have a very quantifiable value, and often those most at risk live in countries in the developing world where it is hard to balance the growing needs of the population with effective conservation measures. It's also, of course, rather rich to be lectured by the developed West/North on how to look after your flora and fauna when we have been so remiss ourselves.
Posted by Willie — 18 March 2010 at 4:13pm
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The breaking news today is that governments
at the CITES
meeting at Doha
have voted AGAINST a trade ban on Atlantic bluefin.
Words cannot express how frustrating this is.
The science and scientific backing is incontrovertible. The public will and
pressure is immense. The species could be commercially extinct within just a
few years.
Posted by Willie — 17 March 2010 at 3:01pm
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Spiny dogfish - renamed rock salmon for the fish and chip trade. Image © Creative Commons
In the UK fish and chips is an institution. We have other institutions too, of course, like the Royal family, and in Britain if you make it to your 100th birthday, the momentous occasion is marked by getting a telegram from the Queen.
But how would you feel if the fish in your fish and chips was eligible for such a telegram?
Because, it just might be.
Posted by Willie — 17 March 2010 at 10:44am
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The CITES meeting is now well underway in Doha, Qatar. Greenpeace is there, as are many other NGOs, and it’s clear that there is a very fishy focus for this meeting. As well as proposals to protect sharks and corals, Atlantic bluefin is the species on everyone’s mind. For a meeting concerned with the international trade in endangered species, it’s amazing how much of it could boil down to simple horse-trading.
This meeting, of course, is the chance to get an international trade ban on Atlantic bluefin, a measure that should protect the species from imminent commercial extinction.
Posted by Willie — 12 February 2010 at 3:44pm
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Tuna, halibut and eels are as happy as this stingray following this week's developments © Clicksy
It’s been a busy week, for the fish.
There was the news that the UK’s biggest seafood suppliers have decided to stop supplying European eel and North Atlantic halibut. Both of these species are already listed on the IUCN’s redlist, but the fact that suppliers and retailers are increasingly delisting such species is testament to ongoing campaigning by the likes of Greenpeace, the Marine Conservation Society, and Fish2Fork – making sure that they know that serving up endangered fish species is simply no longer acceptable.