Times article on Humphead Wrasse protection

[John N]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...278247,00.html

[John Gulliver]

The area is behind registration. For those of who aren't registered and don't want to be, would you like to give us a brief summary, John?

[John N]

Sorry John, forgot they need subs for overseas readers. Here it is:


September 25, 2004

Food of kings sets eastern tastes against western ideals
By Valerie Elliott, Countryside Editor

EUROPE is squaring up for a fight with the Far East over the need to protect the humphead wrasse, a large reef fish which is a luxury food in southeast Asia.

The need to curb the over-fishing of the species in the Indian and Pacific oceans is one of the most controversial issues to be debated at Cites, the Convention on Trade in International Species, which is to be held in Bangkok next month.

Emotions are running high — the wrasse is highly prized as a delicacy and is culturally important as the food of kings and tribal leaders, particularly in western Pacific islands such as Palau, Fiji and the Cook Islands. Its lips are considered its most desirable part.

Elliot Morley, the Environment Minister, is to back the call for new trade controls on the wrasse by listing the species on Appendix II of the Cites agreements. This would mean that fishermen could no longer catch the fish unless the trade was recognised as sustainable and lawful by world conservation experts.

The onus is on fishermen to prove that the trade is not harming the species and that its population is not being plundered. Fishermen would also have to record all landings of wrasse.

Mr Morley said the problem was that scientists had insufficient information about population levels. Listing the species would enable experts to find out the true scale of the problem, and if necessary impose quotas.

He said he was concerned that many fishermen were taking undersized specimens of the fish, which suited the plate size of restaurants in Singapore, Taiwan and China, especially Hong Kong, where the wrasse is a delicacy. Its flesh can command prices from US$95 (£53) to $175 per kilo.

He was convinced that the systematic removal of these large juveniles would have a lasting effect on the population of the species.

The young fish are usually between 35 and 45cm long. They are not sexually mature until they reach 50cm or are five years old. There is concern about interference in the species’ reproduction cycle.

An adult wrasse grows to at least 1.5 metres. Some have been known to grow as long as 2.5 metres and weigh as much as 191kg. They live on average for about 30 years.

Some wrasse start life female but become male in adult life. This hermaphroditism is found in many reed fish but it is not known what controls the timing of the sex change or the factors that spur a fish to change sex.

Mr Morley is also concerned that some fishing techniques used to catch the wrasse may be damaging coral reefs. He is unhappy about the wide use of cyanide in Indonesia and the Philippines to catch the species. This stuns the fish and allows it to be transferred to freshwater tanks. Live wrasses are then put on display in restaurants for customers to choose from. However, cyanide is a poison that kills living coral and destroys vital habitats for reef species.

Mr Morley said yesterday that the EU bloc vote would send a powerful message demanding controls on the fish. About 166 nations are expected to be represented at the Thai summit. A two-thirds majority is required for the species to be granted protection.

Britain is also to back more protection for the great white shark. There is concern that the demand for the jaws, teeth and fins of the great white is now so widespread and the trade so lucrative that the species is under threat.

Tighter conservation measures are also proposed for the African elephant, the minke whale, the ramin timber tree, the Chinese yew, the yellow-crested cockatoo, the lilac-crowned parrot, five species of Asian turtles, the white rhinoceros, the Nile and American crocodiles, the European date mussel and other species.

[Lou]

Well, it is nice to see Morley coming down on the side of conservation. I wish he could be harder when it comes to conservation in our own waters, though.

[Mr T.]

Britain to upset Asian diners over giant fish
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
(Filed: 25/09/2004)

Britain is to support restrictions on international trade in the humphead wrasse, a huge coral reef fish that is highly prized in restaurants in the Far East.

The move to protect the wrasse at a meeting in Bangkok next week will upset many Asian countries, particularly Japan.

The humphead wrasse, also known as the Napoleon or Maori wrasse, is found in the Indian and Pacific oceans and can grow to more than 400lb.

The fish are stunned with cyanide, which causes great damage to coral reefs. They are then shipped out in containers to be kept alive in huge restaurant tanks for diners to make their choice.

The increasing rarity of the wrasse is demonstrated by its rise in price to up to £100 a pound in restaurants. Prices to fishermen exceed £20 a pound.

Since the 1970s the trade has spread to most of the Indian ocean and South Pacific, including the British dominions of Pitcairn and the British Indian Ocean Territories.

Elliot Morley, the environment minister, will be at next week's meeting of 166 countries belonging to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

He said the proposal by Fiji, Ireland - on behalf of the EU - and the United States to list humphead wrasse on Appendix II of the Cites treaty, which restricts trade, would be contentious throughout Asia and particularly with small island states.

The listing of the wrasse, a commercial species, was a "bridgehead issue", he said. It would set a precedent for the inclusion of more commercial marine species in the treaty, which has formerly been heavily dominated by terrestrial species such as rhinos, lions and elephants.

Britain is also supporting a proposal by Australia and Madagascar to add the great white shark to the appendix.

Scientists say there is evidence of population decline and the species will not be able to sustain levels of trade in its jaws, teeth and fins.

The shark is caught both deliberately by sport fishermen and accidentally, as "by-catch", by the massive Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean long-line fleets and also by European and other tuna vessels.



A humphead wrasse in an aquarium

[SCUBA Chick]

That's good news in my opinion

Scubachick

[dave archer]

Originally Posted by scubachick1972

That's good news in my opinion

Indeed

[Fiji Dave]

It's very good news that these magnificent fish are being protected. I've been lucky enough to see quite a few of these during my time in Fiji and they really are beautiful. Saw a juvenile one at Elphinstone as we were swimming back along the reef wall, he'd swim above us, turning on it's side and playing in the bubbles.

During one of the breaks in the project in Fiji we headed over to Australia and went out one night for a meal at a chinese restaurant, further down the street was a restaurant where the entire front window was packed with small fish tanks, each containing far too many fish and in one small tank was a Humphead Wrasse. The tank was shorter than the fish and the water was murky, the poor fish looked in a really bad way - how on earth could anyone think that it was going to make a nice meal?

Did anyone else notice the picture in the article? A very good article highlighting the plight of an endangered species and then they highlight it with a picture of someone stroking the fish.
How many times do people need to be told DON'T TOUCH THE FISH!

[SCUBA Chick]

Originally Posted by fijidave

Did anyone else notice the picture in the article? A very good article highlighting the plight of an endangered species and then they highlight it with a picture of someone stroking the fish.
How many times do people need to be told DON'T TOUCH THE FISH!

Yes, I'm sure they could have found a picture of one in it's natural environment going about it's business...bit of a contradiction I thought having a picture of one in a tank!

Scubachick

[John Gulliver]

Originally Posted by fijidave

It's very good news that these magnificent fish are being protected.

It would be if they were but will they be? What are the chances of the proposal being passed, given that many Asian countries, above all Japan, are opposed to it?