CITES Workshop on Introduction from the Sea Issues

30 November - 2 December 2005, Geneva, Switzerland

Decision 13.18 on Introduction from the Sea, adopted at the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (Bangkok, 2004), directs the Standing Committee, with the assistance of the CITES Secretariat, to convene a workshop on introduction from the sea to consider implementation and technical issues. At its 53rd meeting (Geneva, June 2005), the Standing Committee, on the advice of its clearing-house, decided on the agenda for the workshop and agreed that the workshop would be chaired by the Chairman of the Standing Committee, Ambassador Cristian Maquieira.

The workshop will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 30 November to 2 December 2005 (only in English). Participants will include government officials from CITES Management and Scientific Authorities and government-nominated fisheries experts from all six CITES geographic regions, as well as representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the UN Office of Legal Affairs Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, the World Customs Organization, the European Commission, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission and three non-governmental organizations (TRAFFIC International, IWMC-World Conservation Trust and Species Survival Network).

The purpose of the workshop is to prepare a report on which all CITES Parties can comment and which will provide the basis for the Secretariat to prepare a discussion paper and draft resolution for consideration at the 54th meeting of the Standing Committee (Geneva, October 2006) and at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (tentatively June 2007). During the course of the workshop, participants will take into account the two FAO Expert Consultations on implementation and legal issues, and documents presented and discussions that occurred at the 11th and 13th meetings of the Conference of the Parties on these issues. Click here to see the provisional agenda for the workshop, together with a list of relevant background documents.