FIAF/R1163 (En) FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report ISSN 2070-6987 Report of the FIFTH FAO EXPERT ADVISORY PANEL FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSALS TO AMEND APPENDICES I AND II OF CITES CONCERNING COMMERCIALLY-EXPLOITED AQUATIC SPECIES Rome, 6ï10 June 2016 FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1163 FIAF/R1163 (En) Report of the FIFTH FAO EXPERT ADVISORY PANEL FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSALS TO AMEND APPENDICES I AND II OF CITES CONCERNING COMMERCIALLY-EXPLOITED AQUATIC SPECIES Rome, 6–10 June 2016 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2016 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. 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All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. iii PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT This is the report of the Fifth FAO Expert Advisory Panel for the Assessment of Proposals to Amend Appendices I and II of CITES Concerning Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species, held at FAO headquarters from 6 to 10 June 2016. The meeting of the Panel was funded by FAO Regular Programme with extra assistance from the Governments of Japan and the United States of America. The figures presented in this document are reproduced as they appear in the source materials from which they were obtained, hence the variability in terms of languages, image quality and labelling conventions. iv FAO. 2016. Report of the fifth FAO Expert Advisory Panel for the Assessment of Proposals to Amend Appendices I and II of CITES Concerning Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species, Rome, 6–10 June 2016. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 1163. Rome, Italy. ABSTRACT The fifth FAO Expert Advisory Panel for the Assessment of Proposals to Amend Appendices I and II of CITES Concerning Commercially-exploited Aquatic Species was held at FAO headquarters from 6 to 10 June 2016. The Panel was convened in response to the agreement by the twenty-fifth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) on the terms of reference for an expert advisory panel for assessment of proposals to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and to the endorsement of the twenty-sixth session of COFI to convene the Panel for relevant proposals to future CITES Conference of the Parties. The objectives of the Panel were to: i. assess each proposal from a scientific perspective in accordance with the CITES biological listing criteria (Resolution Conf. 9.24 [Rev. CoP16]; ii. comment, as appropriate, on technical aspects of the proposal in relation to biology, ecology, trade and management issues, as well as, to the extent possible, the likely effectiveness for conservation. The Panel considered the following seven proposals submitted to the seventeenth Conference of the Parties to CITES: CoP17 Prop. 42. Proposal to include silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a). CoP17 Prop. 43. Proposal to include bigeye thresher shark, Alopias superciliosus in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a). If listed, this would include all other species of thresher sharks, genus Alopias spp. in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(b). CoP17 Prop. 44. Proposal to include sicklefin devil ray, Mobula tarapacana and spinetail devil ray, Mobula japanica in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a). If listed, this would include all other species of mobula rays, genus Mobula spp. in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(b). CoP17 Prop. 45. Proposal to include Raya, Potamotrygon motoro in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a). CoP17 Prop. 46. Proposal to include the Banggai cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a). CoP17 Prop. 47. Proposal to include clarion angelfish, Holacanthus clarionensis in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a). CoP17 Prop. 48. Proposal to include the Family Nautilidae in Appendix II in accordance with Article II paragraph 2(a). The Panel report includes an assessment of each of the seven proposals following the objectives presented above, highlighting the Panel’s determination of whether information on the species in question meet the CITES Appendix criteria, and noting biology, ecology, trade and management issues, as well as, to the extent possible, the likely effectiveness of a listing for conservation. v CONTENTS Preparation of this document .............................................................................................................. iii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. iv Contents ................................................................................................................................................... v Abbreviations and acronyms .............................................................................................................. vii Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Background and Purpose of the Expert Advisory Panel ...................................................................... 1 The Panel Meeting ............................................................................................................................... 1 Aquatic Commercial Species Proposals for CoP 17 ............................................................................ 2 FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: CoP17 Proposal 42 ................................................ 5 Silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis. ................................................................................................ 5 Assessment Summary........................................................................................................................... 5 Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria ........................................ 5 Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation ...................... 8 References .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Tables and figures .............................................................................................................................. 15 FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: CoP17 Proposal 43 .............................................. 20 Bigeye thresher shark, Alopias superciliosus. .................................................................................... 20 Assessment Summary......................................................................................................................... 20 Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria ...................................... 20 Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation .................... 23 References .......................................................................................................................................... 27 Table and figures ................................................................................................................................ 30 FAO Expert Advisory Panel assessment report: CoP17 Proposal 44 .............................................. 36 Sicklefin devil ray, Mobula tarapacana and spinetail devil ray, Mobula japanica. .......................... 36 Assessment Summary......................................................................................................................... 36 Scientific assessment in accordance with CITES biological listing criteria ...................................... 36 Comments on technical aspects in relation to trade, management and implementation .................... 38 References .........................................................................................................................................