COFI:FT/VIII/2002/Inf.6

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY 1993-1997

HISTORY 1998-2002

ANNEX
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

INTRODUCTION

1. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the historical relation between COFI and CITES. The document is focused on the debate over the review of CITES listing criteria and the implications such review may have on trade in commercial marine species¹.

HISTORY 1993-1997

2. CITES emerged for the first time in the agenda of the Sub-Committee on Fish Trade of COFI (COFI:FT) during its Fourth Session, held in Rome from 5 to 8 October 1993. FAO Secretariat introduced the document International Trade, Environment and Sustainable Fisheries Development (COFI:FT/IV/93/7), prepared in response to the request by FAO Conference in 1991 to examine the links between environmental policies and international trade. This document commented on the criteria for amending CITES appendices that IUCN had presented to the 29^th CITES Standing Committee². The document expressed concerns on the impact of the application of the new criteria to fishery resources, on the issues of:

• by-catch and species on which the protected species feed;
• trade in products derived from protected species and look-alike species;
• trade in products derived from the same stock of different species.

3. The 9^th Conference of the Contracting Parties to CITES (CoP 9), held in Fort Lauderdale (Virginia, USA) from 7 to 18 November 1994, partly resolved FAO concerns through the adoption of Resolution 9.24 on criteria for amendments of Appendices I and II. In particular, FAO acknowledged the commitment, endorsed in the Resolution, to review periodically the status of listed species. Furthermore, the Resolution contains a provision for the full review of its text and annexes before the CoP 12.

HISTORY 1998-2002

4. In view of the convening of CoP 10 of CITES, a proposal was made to set up a working group on commercial marine species under the CITES framework. Against such proposal, COFI, at its Twenty-second Session, held in Rome from 17 to 20 March 1997, reaffirmed that data collection, research and recommendations of management options for fisheries fell within FAO mandate³. The CITES CoP 10, held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 9 to 20 June 1997, rejected the proposal to set up such a working group.
5. During the Sixth Session of COFI:FT (Bremen, Germany, 3-6 June 1998), a proposal was to appoint an ad hoc Group to advise on amendments to listing criteria in the context of commercially-exploited marine species. The FAO ad hoc Expert Group on Listing Criteria for Marine Species under CITES met in Cape Town (South Africa) on 20 November 1998. It made suggestions for scientific review of the CITES criteria, which were endorsed at the Twenty-third Session of COFI, held in Rome from 15 to 19 February 1999. On the basis of the ad hoc Group report⁴, the FAO Secretariat prepared a report titled An Appraisal of the Suitability of the CITES Criteria for Listing Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species.⁵ FAO also convened a Technical Consultation (Rome, 28-30 June 2000) on the Suitability of the CITES Criteria for Listing Commercially-exploited Marine Species. The Consultation discussed the key points of the ad hoc Expert Group report and of the FAO Secretariat report, and formulated a set of recommendations for consideration by the Twenty-fourth Session of COFI.
6. During the same year, CITES initiated its own review of its listing criteria when CoP 11, which met in Gigiri (Kenya) from 10 to 20 April 2000, adopted as Annex 2 to the Decisions of the Conference the Terms of Reference for the full review of Resolution 9.24, as recommended by the Resolution itself. The Terms of Reference included the establishment of a Criteria Working Group and a review process with a time schedule, leading to the full adoption of revised criteria at CoP 12, to be held from 3 to 15 November 2002 in Santiago, Chile. The Fisheries Department of FAO, at the invitation of CITES, served on the Criteria Working Group.
7. Approving the report from the Technical Consultation of June 2000, COFI, at its Twenty-fourth Session (Rome, 26 February- 2 March 2001), requested the FAO Secretariat to prepare a background paper analysing the CITES criteria and proposing a scientific framework to evaluate the status of the species concerned⁶. The paper was prepared and focused on listing under Appendix I and Appendix II species in accordance to CITES Article II par. 2(a). This paper was discussed at the Second Technical Consultation on the Suitability of CITES Criteria for Listing Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species, held in Windhoek, Namibia, from 22 to 25 October 2001.
8. COFI also endorsed the recommendations of the Technical Consultation that FAO should establish a process to consider the problems and potential solutions in relation to listing fishery resources under Appendix II in accordance with Article II, including the implications of the "look alike" provision (paragraph 2(b)), introductions from the sea, and the precautionary approach (Annex 4 of CITES resolution 9.24). It agreed that the follow-up on these matters should be dealt with by the COFI Sub-Committee on Fish Trade under the title "Developing a workplan for exploring CITES issues with respect to international fish trade".

ANNEX
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

Year	month	FAO	CITES
1991
	Nov	Conference requests FAO to examine links between trade and environment (doc. C/91).
1992
1993
	Mar		IUCN presents draft amendments to CITES listing criteria at 29th CITES Standing Committee (doc. SC29 -.pdf-).
	Oct	COFI:FT discussion of document International Trade, Environment and Sustainable Fisheries Development (doc. COFI:FT/IV/93/7).
1994
	Nov		CoP 9 adopts new listing criteria (Res. 9.24).
1995
1996
1997
	Mar	COFI reaffirms that data collection, research and recommendations of management options falls within FAO mandate (doc. FIPL/R562(En)).
	June		CoP 10 does not endorse proposal to establish a Marine Species Working Group.
1998
	June	South Africa proposes that FAO initiate a scientific review of the CITES listing criteria as they might apply to commercial marine species (appendix F to doc. FIIU/R589 Tri)
	Nov	FAO convenes ad hoc Expert Group on Listing Criteria for Marine Species under CITES (doc. COFI/99/Inf.16 Part II).
1999
	Feb	COFI-FT endorses ad hoc Group report (doc. FIPL/R595).
2000
	Apr		CoP 11 adopts terms of reference for full review of Resolution 9.24 (decision 11.2 and annex 2).
	June	Technical Consultation of the Suitability of the CITES criteria for Listing Commercially-exploited Marine Species (documents and report FIRM/R629(Tri)).
2001
	Feb	COFI reviews the outcome of the Technical Consultation (doc. COFI/2001/6). COFI requests FAO Secretariat (doc. CL120/7) to prepare background paper for 2nd Technical Consultation (doc. FI:SLC2/2001/2).
	May		First proposal for criteria review, submitted by the Criteria Working Group (notification 2001/037)
	Oct	Second Technical Consultation of the Suitability of the CITES criteria for Listing Commercially-exploited Marine Species (documents).
	Nov	Before the end of the year, the Chairs of the Animals and Plants Committees prepare the final report for submission to the Standing Committee, taking into account all the comments received from the Parties, IGOs and NGOs.
2002
	Feb	COFI:FT to launch a process of Developing a workplan for exploring CITES issues with respect to international fish trade as instructed by COFI (doc. CL120/7).
	Mar		CITES Standing Committee considers the adoption of the Chairs' report and its presentation to CoP 12.
	Nov		CoP 12 adopts revised criteria for amendments to CITES appendices.

1 It is also worth mentioning that the collaboration between FAO and CITES in the field of shark conservation and management led to the adoption, in 1999, of the FAO International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.

2 The proposed criteria were designed to repeal the criteria set by the first Conference of the Parties to CITES in 1976.

3 Document FIPL/R562(En)

4 Document COFI/99/Inf.16/Part II

5 FAO Fisheries Circular No. 954

6 Document FI:SLC2/2001/2