Notification to the Parties

CONCERNING:

Export quotas for 2003

Explanatory notes

Background

1. The Secretariat has published on its website details of export quotas for CITES-listed species that Parties have established for 2003 as soon as they were received. The present Notification provides information on all the export quotas for 2003 that were established by 4 April 2003. The Secretariat will continue to maintain an updated list of quotas for 2003 on its website after the issuance of this Notification.

2. Catch and export quotas for Acipenseriformes species established in accordance with Resolution Conf. 12.7, and voluntary export quotas for Acipenseriformes species, are included in Annex 1 of the present Notification.

3. Export quotas for species other than Acipenseriformes which have been established by the Conference of the Parties, and voluntary national export quotas communicated to the Secretariat in accordance with paragraph a), under ‘RECOMMENDS’ of section VIII of Resolution Conf. 12.3 on Permits and certificates are provided in Annex 2. Export quotas for raw elephant ivory, submitted in compliance with Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12) on Trade in elephant specimens, are also included.

Interpretation of quotas for Acipenseriformes

4. Decision 11.58 was superseded by Resolution Conf. 12.7 on Conservation of and trade in sturgeons and paddlefish.

5. With regard to catch and export quotas for Acipenseriformes to be established in 2003, Resolution Conf. 12.7 recommends that:

a) Parties not accept the import of specimens of Acipenseriformes species from stocks shared between different range States unless:

i) export quotas for that year have been established by the range States concerned and have been communicated by the Secretariat to the Parties;

ii) the export quotas referred to in subparagraph i) have been derived from catch quotas agreed amongst States that provide habitat for the same stock of an Acipenseriformes species;

iii) catch quotas are based on an appropriate regional conservation strategy and monitoring regime for the species concerned; and

iv) the Secretariat is satisfied that catch and export quotas are agreed by all relevant range States, on the basis of information provided to it on the status of stocks of the species concerned; and

b) if a range State of a shared stock of a species of Acipenseriformes decides to reduce its quota established in accordance with this Resolution under stricter domestic measures, this shall not affect the quotas of the other range States of this stock;

6. Annex 1 contains the catch and export quotas of species of Acipenseriformes from stocks shared between different range States that were submitted in compliance with Resolution Conf. 12.7, and for which the Secretariat is satisfied on the basis of information provided on the status of the stocks of the species concerned that catch and export quotas were agreed by relevant range States. Export quotas communicated by some Parties for endemic stocks and for aquaculture or captive-breeding operations are also included in Annex 1.

7. Remaining stocks of specimens that were obtained under the catch or export quotas for 2002, but were not exported in 2002 and that were communicated to the Secretariat prior to 15 January 2003, are not included in the table unless specifically stated, but can be requested from the Secretariat.

Interpretation of quotas for other species

8. Unless indicated otherwise, the quotas listed in Annex 2 were established by the Party concerned.

9. The inclusion of quotas in this list does not imply endorsement by the Secretariat. The quotas are established by the Parties and the Secretariat has no indication, in particular regarding the removal of specimens from wild populations, as to whether these quotas are based on the determinations that Parties are required to make that the level of exports would not be detrimental to the survival of the species [Article IV, paragraph 2 (a)]. The Secretariat will however request clarification, as well as supporting information from the Party concerned, whenever a concern about a specific quota arises. In such instances, and also in cases where Parties have indicated that a quota is provisional, quotas in Annex 2 are indicated to be 'in preparation'. The Secretariat may, in addition, decline to publish a quota until the concerns it raises have been satisfactorily addressed by the Party.

10. The list in Annex 2 also includes quotas established by the Conference of the Parties (marked with ‘*’) and those resulting from recommendations of the Animals Committee and the Standing Committee (marked with ‘+’) in the context of Resolution Conf. 12.8, which has replaced Resolution Conf. 8.9 (Rev.).

11. Some Parties (marked ‘**’) submit information on export quotas for species not listed in the Appendices, which is available from the Secretariat to requesting CITES Management Authorities or competent authorities of non-Party States.

12. Quotas established represent the maximum number of specimens that are authorized for export in the calendar year 2003. Quotas refer, unless otherwise specified, to specimens of wild origin.

13. The quotas for 2003 should not include specimens that were obtained for export in 2002 or in preceding years but for which no export permit was issued in these years. Specimens obtained for export in 2002 or previous years that were part of export quotas for these years should not be authorized for export in 2003 unless the Management Authority had informed the Secretariat before 15 January 2003 about the quantities still held in stock and the reason why they had not been exported. Parties that provided this information to the Secretariat are indicated as such in Annexes 1 and 2, and further details can be obtained by requesting CITES Management Authorities or competent authorities of non-Party States from the Secretariat.

Export permits

14. Management Authorities are referred to Resolution Conf. 12.3, section VIII, paragraphs a) and b) under ‘RECOMMENDS’, concerning references to quotas on export permits. Each export permit issued for a species subject to an export quota should indicate the total number of specimens of the species exported to date (including those covered by the permit) and the annual quota for the species, in the following format:

1250/4000 (2003)

In this example 1,250 specimens of the species concerned have been authorized to be exported to date (including those on the current permit), out of an annual quota of 4,000 in the year 2003. This information should be provided in block 11a of the standard permit form in Annex 2 to Resolution Conf. 12.3. By implication, Management Authorities should keep a running total of all exports authorized for species subject to quotas. The Secretariat has been informed of a number of cases in previous years where quotas were not adequately reflected on export permits.

15. When issuing permits, Management Authorities should follow the standard nomenclature for species and the terms used in Annexes 1 and 2 to this Notification for the type and source of specimens [see also Resolution Conf. 12.3, section I, paragraph j)].

16. Where, for any species, separate annual export quotas have been established according to the source of the specimens, for example wild specimens (‘W’) and specimens produced on ranches (‘R’), the information specified on each export permit should refer to the export quota in relation to the source, and not to the combined export quota for the species.

17. When the established export quota for a species refers ONLY to one source, for example ‘W’, Parties should not accept specimens from another source (e.g. ‘F’) as part of the same quota.

18. The Secretariat will recommend to potential importing countries the rejection of permits that do not, where appropriate, include the details referred to in paragraphs a) and b) under ‘RECOMMENDS’ in section VIII of Resolution Conf. 12.3.

Further improvements to the establishment and management of quotas

19. The Secretariat recommends to Parties to make quotas as specific as possible, i.e. to refer to a number or other restrictions (weight, measure, age class, etc.), a requirement for tagging or labelling where applicable and to describe precisely the type of specimens included (e.g. live specimens, hunting trophies, etc.) and their source (e.g. wild-taken, ranched or bred in captivity).

20. Parties are requested to submit their nationally established quotas using the standard names in the Checklist of CITES Species, or in the database of CITES-listed species accessible through the CITES website.

Updating quotas in 2003

21. The Secretariat will publish additional quotas and amendments to quotas on its website throughout the remainder of the year. It will be clearly indicated where additions or changes have been made, and on what date.

22. No further Notifications will be issued to announce such additional quotas or amendments, but Parties and organizations that have problems in accessing updated quotas from the website may request updates to be to be provided via e-mail or by post.