Mediterranean bluefin catches continue to mock quotas and science
New bluefin tuna catch estimates show
Red List update shows up global failure to slow biodiversity loss
The latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species should cause alarm over the continuing unprecedented loss of species and the failure so far of mechanisms to arrest biodiversity loss, WWF said today. More than one third of the species assessed for this year's Red List update were classified as threatened with extinction.
Genetic tuna tracking opens new options in race to save fish and fisheries
A new method that uses gene sequencing to accurately distinguish between tuna species has the potential to support fisheries management and possible trade restrictions for endangered tuna species. The revelation closely follows news that an international wildlife trade convention is to consider a proposal to ban international trade in the Mediterranean tuna next March.
Treaty parties learn of 40 proposed wildlife trade rule changes
Proposals for tighter trade controls for species such as the Atlantic Blue Fin tuna, sharks and corals have been submitted for the next meeting of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). The meeting to consider the proposed changes to trade rules is scheduled to be held in Quatar in March.
Loophole looms for illegal loggers ravaging Madagascar
An exceptional authorisation from the Malagasy transitional government for the export of raw and semi-processed precious woods risks opening a loophole for the legal export of illegally cut timber and encouraging further assaults on Madagascar's endangered forests and wildlife, conservation groups active on the island have said.
Thai Navy makes grisly tiger seizure
The Thai Navy has seized two Tiger carcasses and 45 pangolins, and arrested eight traffickers who had planned to smuggle the animals across the Mekong River into Lao PDF. (Graphic Images)
Box turtles face knockout as Indonesian traders flagrantly ignore quota
Unregulated trade—at 10 to 100 times legal levels—has caused Southeast Asian Box Turtles almost to vanish from parts of Indonesia where they were once common, according to a new report by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.
Elephants under threat as illegal ivory price soars in Viet Nam
Indochina’s few surviving elephants are under increasing threat from booming illegal ivory prices in Viet Nam, according to a new market analysis released today by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.
Four more slaughtered tigers seized in Malaysia
Thai highway police unexpectedly underlined the seriousness of the tiger trafficking problem in Southeast Asia when they seized the contents of a truck containing four freshly slaughtered tigers, believed to be on their way from Malaysia to China last week.
Myanmar hot spot for elephant smuggling and ivory
Around 250 live Asian Elephants have been smuggled from Myanmar in the past decade, mostly destined for “elephant trekking” tourism activities in neighbouring Thailand, a new report by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC reveals today.