The participants at the workshop

Kochi, December 15, 2015: Considering India’s long shoreline, a series of capacity building workshops are required to cover and sensitise local fishing communities along the country’s coastline. Following the first capacity building workshop held in Chennai in August 2014 to help implement listing of shark and manta rays in the eastern coast of India. Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and its international partner International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has taken this initiative forward and organised the second workshop in Kochi, Kerala, from December 15 to 16, 2015. The workshop — ‘Capacity Building Workshop on Cites Appendix II listing of Sharks and Manta Ray Species’ –was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of Kerala, Manta Trust and Pew Charitable Trust.

This workshop aimed to involve all important fishing stakeholders from the western coast of India and bring in 50 national and international participants from all stakeholders including, representatives of Forest Department, Fisheries Department from the western coast of India, NGOs, organizations and institutions, and experts from India and across the world.

The workshop was inaugurated by OP Kaler, APCCF, Government of Kerala, and Ms Tilotama Varma, Additional Director, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. OP Kaler appreciated the involvement of all the participants and their commitment towards shark conservation. He felt all stakeholders including fishermen should work closely and the suggested recommendations of the workshop for sustainable trade of the shark species listed in Appendix II of CITES should be passed on to MoEF&CC for implementation of listing of shark listing.

The workshop sought to understand the implications of shark trade in India and come out with the procedure to conduct the detailed procedural requirements of Non-Detrimental Findings (NDF) for shark and manta ray species. The stakeholders at this stage need training and sensitization on the implementation of NDF as they are still unsure of the procedure and its implication. Therefore, the workshop came out with best ways for improving the implementation of the shark listing in Appendix II of CITES.

During the course of the workshop, Ms Tilotama Varma said that there should be a holistic approach towards shark conservation and the stakeholders should voice their concerns on the implementation of listing to the policy makers.

Sharks are keystone species and their abundance and health are critical to the balance of the marine ecosystem. Recognizing the threat that many shark species face due to their utilization in trade, at the last Conference of the Parties (CoP16) to CITES held in Bangkok in 2013, Parties agreed to list additional species of sharks and rays on the CITES Appendices.

Five shark species and all manta rays were added to Appendix II at CITES CoP16 in 2013. India had listed 10 shark species in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 thus initiating conservation of these species. Government of India has also taken steps to ban shark finning through a national policy circular. But there is a need to sensitize people about shark finning and all stakeholders need to be trained on the traceability techniques and tools that must be looked into for the effective conservation of sharks and rays.

Ralf Sonntag, representing all the international experts, urged all stakeholders both national and international to work together in international agreements for shark conservation. Meanwhile, Vivek Menon, ED and CEO, WTI, appreciated the efforts of both international and national experts on their commitment for shark conservation. He appreciated the effort of CMFRI and Bay of Bengal Programme in particular for the preparation of National Plan of Action for shark management.

There were 44 participants in all representing various national and international organisaitions which included MoEF, Kerala FD, Maharashtra FD, Kerala Fisheries, Maharashtra Fisheries, Goa Fisheries, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Fishery Survey of India, Coast Guard, Customs, CMFRI, MPEDA, Zological Survey of India, HSI- India, TRAFFIC India, Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Bay of Bengal Programme, WWF-India and National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources.

In September 14, 2014, the implementation of new appendix II listings came to effect in order to allow CITES member nations to build capacity amongst their respective governments for the enforcement of these listings. The second edition of this workshop being held in Kochi is a step forward in that direction.