83 species of corals that are being considered banned

[jimskoi]

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/invertebrates/

[new2salt]

Jim,

We all know that the wheels of Government usually turn slowly.
Any idea - how long the process takes to go from "Candidate" status to "Endangered Species" and no longer available at the retail level?

Just wondering.....
How does American legislation impact other Countries and areas that may export similar species


Maybe Snowgrrl83

I work for the Canadian Wildlife Service (Environment Canada) - we enforce and put into place CITES, species at risk act and other national wildlife issues.

can chime in and shine some light on the subject

[jimskoi]

Who knows how long it would take or even if it will.I was given the link from one of our suppliers.I hope that this will not affect cultured corals.It shouldnt.

[Snowgrrl83]

Hi everyone,

I really can't tell you too much about the American way of listing species at risk and then finally signing them on as a protected species. 

I can tell you that here in Canada, it usually takes more than a couple of years for a species to be protected under law because of the incredible backlog of species that need to be assessed.  COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) usually assesses species in Canada.  There is also quite an elaborate process to protect a species that is in fact at risk.  In order for a species to be assessed it must first make it on a "pirority candidate assessment list" (which involves criteria such as x% of the population has disapeared in the past x amount of years) and a species status report must be written (which usually takes a 2 to 3 years to complete and approve).  Once the status report is written COSEWIC members meet, but there is usually about a year of delay between the completion of the candidate species assessment report and the assessment itself (this meeting occurs twice a year) and the members decide on the status of the species (Extinct, Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened, Species Concern, Not at Risk, Data Deficient).  The species is not yet protected at this point. A species that is designated as Endangered or Threatened must then get approval from the Minister to be protected under the Species at Risk Act. ... which takes another year or 2. 

In total, it takes about 5 years between the time that a species is identified as having serious declines and its protection (if it even needs protection under law) in Canada.  ...BUT is the species is found to be imminently in danger of extinction, the Minister can take action sooner through some other type of mechanism.... but this is not likely the case for 95% of species.

I'm unsure how quickly things get listed under CITES and WAPPRIITA (which regulates international trades of Endangered Species)
I'm sure you can get more information by contacting the Canadian Wildlife Service.
You can find the current CITES list on the Canadian Wildlife Service website (environment canada).

Here is the international CITES site.

http://www.cites.org/

For some reason, which Im unaware of... the Canadian CITES site isnt working right now so Ill get you the link later...

Also, here is the list of Canadian species at risk
www.sararegistry.gc.ca (might be useful, but you wont find any tropical corals since they are all species native to Canada)

FYI, the province can also list species as being at risk within the province.  They can list and protect the species in a much quicker fashion than at the national level (it usually takes them 2 or 3 years instead of 5 or 6 years because they have less hoops to jump through).  You can find the Ontario Species at Risk list here...
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Species/2ColumnSubPage/276503.html

Some species are are illegally traded in the PET TRADE business... these species include the Spotted Turtle and the Rat Snake and the Five-lined Skinkin Ontario which are all protected species. Fines can amount to 1 million dollars! (YIKES!)

[new2salt]

Yes the links work.
great info

Thanks Snowgrrl83

[Snowgrrl83]

I'm not that knowledgeable on the trade of species that are under CITES (WAPPRIITA) but, if you have any further questions, feel free to contact our Wildlife Enforcement crew in Ottawa at

613-990-5406. 

If you do end up owning a coral or any species that is listed under CITES, it may be possible to trade it internationally with a permit.  Permits usually take 6 to 8 weeks to issue.  If you simply own a species that is protected, you can also obtain a permit (and it is advised that anyone you trade a frag with apply for a permit as well).

They can answer all sorts of questions for all.