The CITES Secretariat has announced (No. 2024/041) the Technical workshop on Marine Ornamental Fishes will be held in Brisbane Australia from May 7 to 10 2024.
While it is great news that the workshop is finally going ahead, it is disappointing that these dates clash with major industry dates such as Interzoo 2024 in Germany and Regional Aquatics Workshop (Raw) being held in the USA.
OFI will be attending the workshop in Brisbane and looks forward to working with other trade organisations including Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA) and the European Pet Organisation (EPO) and other IPAC members to represent the interests of the industry and ensure the workshop arrives at science based decisions. The terms of reference are quite broad including the nature of the international trade in aquarium fish, identifying species in trade, regulations and best practice management, sustainability and livelihoods benefits. This last point is of major concern for us, as the collection of marine ornamental fish provides livelihoods for people in some of the poorest nations
We will update you as more news and details of the workshop are released.
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