MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Battle to limit trade of sharks and cedar trees in The Hague

Battle for conservation of sharks and cedar trees begins in The Hague
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is expected to call for new limitations on commercial fisheries and timber, particularly certain species of sharks and cedar trees which are extensively used for furniture and humidors.

At the meeting in The Hague of the 171-nation organization, Willem Wijnstekers secretary general of CITE said he had hopes of intervening before species' survival reaches a serious level of risk. Until now, CITES has stepped in "at a far too late stage, when the species were already or almost commercially extinct," he said, referring specially to timber like mahogany. The ongoing struggles to control elephant poaching and to protect tigers from extinction are also on the agenda of the 12-day gathering under CITES, a treaty that came into force in 1975. The conference will consider a European proposal to regulate the trade in the spiny dogfish, a small shark exploited for the fast food business, and the porbeagle, another shark valued for its meat and fin. Both sharks grow slowly, mature late and have few young. The United States and Canada, which are among the world's top three exporters of spiny dogfish, have signaled they may oppose the proposal, as has New Zealand, said Sonia Fordham, of Oceans Conservancy in Washington. Another proposal would help protect sawfish, with a famously serrated snout, which are popular aquaria items and also are exploited as food. Proposals need a two-thirds majority of voting countries. Nongovernmental organizations may present papers, speak at meetings and lobby delegates, but cannot vote. "We think it's still winnable, but the sharks will be one of the biggest battles of the conference," said Carroll Muffett, of the Greenpeace environmental movement. The conference also will consider listing the Spanish cedar, a tropical hardwood from South America prized for its salmon-colored wood used in cabinets, musical instruments and the aromatic lining of cigar boxes. Conservationists say loggers are stripping that and other hardwood trees from national parks and protected areas in several countries, especially Peru. Other proposals would limit trade in the wood of the pau Bazil tree, used to make high-end bows for stringed instruments. Protection also would be increased for several species of gazelles. CITES lists more than 7,000 animals and 32,000 plants whose trade is regulated, including about 800 highly threatened species that are banned from commercial trade without special licenses.