By Matthew Falloon, Staff Reporter
Espeut
THREE MARINE species that inhabit Jamaican waters have been listed on the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) top ten "most wanted" list in the run-up to next month's 12th CITES (Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) meeting in Santiago, Chile.
The biennial list was released last week and includes the whale shark, Hawksbill turtle and seahorses as among the "most in-demand animals and plants bought, sold, smuggled, killed or captured for the international marketplace".
While Hawksbill turtles are already heavily protected internationally under CITES appendix 1 as a species threatened with extinction in which trade is permitted only in exceptional circumstances, seahorses and whale sharks will be considered for inclusion under appendix 2 in Chile. Appendix 2 requires trade controls to ensure survival of endangered species.
Jamaica has at least two species of seahorse in its waters, the Lined or Northern Seahorse (Hippocampus Erectus) and the Brazilian Seahorse (Hippocampus Reidi).
The whale shark, the largest fish in the sea, is a highly mobile shark that migrates across tropical and warm temperate waters and exists in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean. The shark is hunted for its meat, skin and fins. Seahorses are captured for aquaria, curios and medicinal purposes.
"This year, CITES delegates will consider adding a number of marine species to the treaty, including Patagonian toothfish, seahorses and whale sharks, to ensure that they are sustainably caught and traded," Simon Habel, director of TRAFFIC North America, WWF's wildlife trade monitoring arm stated last week. "We believe CITES has an important role to play as a forum for ensuring sustainability of many of the world's shared marine resources."
However, local environmentalist Peter Espeut doubts the efficacy of international trade controls in helping to protect endangered species on a local level, believing that species continue to be hunted whether they are sold internationally or not.
"There is no enforcement of any environmental laws to speak of," he told The Gleaner on Tuesday. "The Government is paying only lip service to the environment."
According to Espeut, the population of Hawksbill turtles nesting on Jamaican beaches is estimated at 60 with a minimum of 12 turtles being hunted each year. With each turtle taking an estimated 25 years to become sexually active, he believes this unpoliced hunting places the population at extreme risk.
"The reason why they (the Government) don't touch it is because they don't care. If they were to touch it then people would ask why aren't you touching the question of fish kills and the pollution from the sugar estates? Why are you not touching the issues of illegal bird shooting, why aren't you addressing the issue of crocodile killing?"
According to Espeut, toeing the CITES or Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) line does not mean that all endangered species of fauna and flora are safe in Jamaica.
"Jamaica does not breach CITES if we kill 1000 turtles, we breach CITES if we sell one," he said. "Each country is supposed to enable legislation for the Biodiversity convention. The Wildlife Protection Act does contain all the animals that need to be conserved but does not contain any of the plants, it is really a hunting act."
The CITES meeting takes place between November 3 and 15 in Santiago.
