TRAFFIC Southeast Asia
Press Release
Urgent boost needed to improve regulation of Whale Shark trade in Taiwan
Taipei, Taiwan, 26 July 2006...TRAFFIC welcomed Taiwan’s announcement last week that it is to halve its Whale Shark harvest quota from the current 60 to 30 by 2008. Taiwan is implementing the world’s first Whale Shark harvest and monitoring system, an important step towards long-term management of the fishery. However, this may not be enough to ensure a sustainable future for the species while unreported catch may continue to be entering domestic markets through unofficial channels, TRAFFIC warns.
Whale Shark is widely distributed in all tropical and warm temperate seas and it is listed as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List, and included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Countries such as Belize, India, Maldives, the Philippines, Seychelles and Thailand have prohibited Whale Shark harvesting to date. Taiwan has been identified as possibly the world’s largest market for Whale Shark meat.
“There is an underlying concern for illegal Whale Shark trade in Taiwan”, said Joyce Wu of TRAFFIC’s office in Taipei. “For example, 32.5 metric tonnes of meat reportedly obtained from legal harvests in 2004 corresponds poorly with the 68.5 metric tonnes of meat reported as sold the same year in just two of the major wholesale fishery markets in Taipei and Taichung.”
Such a marked discrepancy between domestic catch data and the volume of Whale Shark meat on domestic markets indicates a considerable volume of imports of fish caught elsewhere, or substantial under-reporting of the catch. According to the Customs statistics, however, no imports of Whale Shark have taken place in the past five years. During TRAFFIC’s research on the management of trade of Whale Sharks in Taiwan in 2001, some retailers claimed Indonesia and Hainan Island, China to be source areas for some of the Whale Shark meat on sale in Taiwan.
TRAFFIC calls for urgent measures by the Taiwanese government to improve regulation and enforcement efforts related to the Whale Shark trade in Taiwan. “Extra vigilance is now necessary as a change in the harvesting quotas can potentially increase the pressure on illegal imports. It is crucial to monitor closely the markets and continuously assess the trade trends,” Wu added. “A transparent auction and shipping system would assist further in efforts to stop illegal activities and in ensuring a sustainable future for this giant of the sea.”
ENDS
For more information and photos, please contact:
· Joyce Wu, TRAFFIC East Asia (Taiwan), tel: + 886 2 2362 9787, email:
ycjoycew@ms57.hinet.net · Glenn Sant, TRAFFIC Oceania (Australia), tel: +61 2 9280 1671, email:
gsant@traffico.org · Maija Sirola, TRAFFIC International (UK), tel.+44 1223-277427, email:
maija.sirola@trafficint.org NOTE TO EDITORS:
· The TRAFFIC East Asia report ‘‘Management and Trade of Whale Sharks in Taiwan’ (2002) can be downloaded at
www.traffic.org/news/press-releases/taiwan_whale.pdf · Whale Shark was listed in Appendix II of CITES at the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties held in November 2002.
· Harvest regulation for Whale Shark was established in Taiwan in 2002, with an initial quota of 80 fish, decreased to 60 in 2006. Violation of the harvest regulation is punishable with fines of up to TWD150 000 (USD4600) or imprisonment for up to three years. Failure to report on harvest is punishable with fines of TWD15 000 – 75 000 (USD460 – 2300).
· TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a joint programme of WWF, the conservation organization and IUCN – The World Conservation Union.
www.traffic.org
