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Fish

Answer

No Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) listed wild-caught fish have been imported into the UK for the pet trade and for aquaria in the last five years. The department does not hold information on EU imports of CITES-listed wild-caught fish, nor on imports of non-CITES species. To date, Defra has not made any generic assessment of the impact on biodiversity of the trade in wild-caught fish as pets. However, the Darwin Initiative has funded a range of research and capacity building projects on the sustainable management of wild populations. One such project, led by the Zoological Society of London, is working on sustainable management of Ornamental Fish Species in Mamiraua, in the Brazilian Amazon. For the small number of fish species listed in the CITES appendices, EU regulations mean we must be satisfied that the trade will not be detrimental to the conservation of the species before a permit can be issued to import them. The European Commission can also suspend trade in CITES species where it is considered to be unsustainable. Although this mechanism is not available to regulate trade in the many non-CITES fish species, it is open to any party to make a case to list more fish species on CITES. Meanwhile the Government are keeping the ornamental fish trade under review, and proposals are currently before the EU member states to list a number of fish species on annexe D of the CITES regulations for monitoring purposes. Outside of government, the Marine Aquarium Council is also working to create market incentives for sustainably managed resources and has established a certification process to help ensure that the collection and trade in aquatic species is environmentally sound.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

4899; 680 c174-5WA

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species EU external trade Fish Imports Nature conservation Pets

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk