Sights on CITES: The Bitter End - Oceana USA
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March 25, 2010

Sights on CITES: The Bitter End

This is the ninth in a series of dispatches from the CITES meeting in Doha, Qatar.

As Oceana marine scientist Elizabeth Griffin put it: “This meeting was a flop.”

CITES has been a complete failure for the oceans. The one success — the listing of the porbeagle shark under Appendix II — was overturned yesterday in the plenary session.

The future of bluefin tuna, the eight proposed species of sharks and red and pink corals now hangs in the balance.

“It appears that money can buy you anything, just ask Japan,” said Dave Allison, senior campaign director. “Under the crushing weight of the vast sums of money gained by unmanaged trade and exploitation of endangered marine species by Japan, China, other major trading countries and the fishing industry, the very foundation of CITES is threatened with collapse.”

Maybe next time — if these species are still around to be protected.

The failure of CITES means that Oceana’s work – and your support and activism – is more important than ever. You can start by supporting our campaign work to protect these creatures.

Here’s Oceana’s Gaia Angelini on the conclusion of CITES: