WWF Oceans in crisis - world governments must take action
Wednesday 30 October 2002
A new WWF online leaflet reveals that some of the world's most precious marine species are particularly threatened by unregulated international trade and pirate fishing.
According to Conservation for a blue planet, nearly half of the Patagonian toothfish traded internationally in 2001 had been illegally caught. As a result, toothfish stocks have been devastated in the southern oceans.Sharks also face increasing pressure. Their slow growth, low birth rate, and late sexual maturity make them particularly susceptible to over-exploitation, and they are increasingly suffering from high levels of unreported by-catch and growing markets for fins, meat, cartilage and oil. WWF is also concerned at the fate of seahorses, nearly 16 million of which were consumed annually in Asia alone in the early 1990s. With a low birth rate and short life-span, these creatures are also in need of much higher levels of protection.
From 3 to 15 November 2002, 160 governments will meet in Santiago, Chile for a major conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This represents a unique opportunity to help save some marine species such as sharks, whales, toothfish and seahorses.
Wednesday 30 October 2002
A new WWF online leaflet reveals that some of the world's most precious marine species are particularly threatened by unregulated international trade and pirate fishing.
According to Conservation for a blue planet, nearly half of the Patagonian toothfish traded internationally in 2001 had been illegally caught. As a result, toothfish stocks have been devastated in the southern oceans.Sharks also face increasing pressure. Their slow growth, low birth rate, and late sexual maturity make them particularly susceptible to over-exploitation, and they are increasingly suffering from high levels of unreported by-catch and growing markets for fins, meat, cartilage and oil. WWF is also concerned at the fate of seahorses, nearly 16 million of which were consumed annually in Asia alone in the early 1990s. With a low birth rate and short life-span, these creatures are also in need of much higher levels of protection.
From 3 to 15 November 2002, 160 governments will meet in Santiago, Chile for a major conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This represents a unique opportunity to help save some marine species such as sharks, whales, toothfish and seahorses.