Tongan imports of corals, rock, and clams now closed

[pledosophy]

A message from walt Smith.

 

Dear All,

It is a sorry fact that the import of all CITES related items from Tonga have been banned by the US Fish and Wildlife Services effective immediately. I was in Tonga on the morning I got a call from my customer and told me the news.

Essentially what has happened is that USFWS has been communicating with the Tongan government for the last two years trying to get them to comply with some simple regulations. When the Tongan authorities received these request they put them into the “too hard basket” and basically ignored them. There were several extensions to the deadlines and all went ignored. Unfortunately the Industry was unaware of these request or we could have gotten involved and helped steer it to avoid the consequences we are experiencing now.

The Tongan government has been through a lot of changes since the riots of November 2006 and this could be the reason no one has paid attention. They have had three or four different ministers and a lot of issues other than our export to deal with. In my opinion, this does not get them off the hook but does help to explain the dilemma.

Our industry is the largest export out of Tonga bringing in the much need import dollars since the disaster of 2006 (the entire town burned to the ground) and you would think that the fisheries would do what they could to support it. However, the reason I was in Tonga last week was to meet with the various government heads to establish a reef management plan that they need. There is already a threat to ban the industry from the Tongan side because they are unaware of what we actually do and it is my persistence with the rest of the industry that we become more transparent and establish correct reef management in order for our survival. Now we will have a real battle that the US has taken the first move.

The fact is that I have been there for 19 years and the reefS are in the same condition as when I arrived and this is why I am pushing for a proper scientific study to prove our point. If any of you saw the immense size of the resource compared to what we harvest I am sure you would all agree. It is definitely renewable and sustainable with almost zero impact considering how selective we are and how fast the coral grows that we select for our hobby.

As far as the comments regarding a move to increase prices ….. Get real! We have struggled in Tonga for many years to keep our business alive due to inexperienced competition selling too low and airline prices going through the roof. Most of the money for your products goes to Air New Zealand (over 65%) and then we have overhead and payroll to deal with.

I am now forced to lay off about 80% of my loyal staff who are like family to me and ship only fish. I doubt that I will last long in Tonga shipping only fish.

Sorry to dump on you all but I thought you did deserve the truth in this hobby we all love.

Walt Smith

 

RC threads:

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1380526&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1382020

[ThePremiumAquarium]

I am sad to say that I doubt this is the only loss of live rock and corals that we will see imported into the US. I really love Tongan corals and rock too. Thanks for the pos though. It is good information.

 

 

Garrett

[pledosophy]

I hear Hawiaan fish are next . . .

[defigart]

From what I read, this Tongan "ban" may be only short term, and that they have now submitted the paperwork neccesary, that may allow for the USFNW to accept the import of them agian.

 

As far as Hawaii goes I have heard mixed things. But they boil down to some young politician(s), try to make a name for himself/herself, by creating more red-tape, and paperwork, for something that is already controled, and regulated.

 

Hawaiian F&W (or similar) already regulates the collection and export of things, much like we do Salmon and Deer. They have been doing so for quite a while, and doing a great job. They really don't need another layer of government creating more taxes/fees to do the same job.

[pledosophy]

Apprently it is not just Tonga . . .

 

As of April 30, 2008, the following countries had not provided information to the CITES Secretariat on their designated Management Authority and/or Scientific Authority:

 

Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Haiti, Holy See, Kiribati, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Montenegro, Nauru, Niue, Oman, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan and Tuvalu.

 

Action: The United States will not allow the import of CITES-listed specimens from countries that have not designated a competent Management Authority and Scientific Authority and communicated such designations to the CITES Secretariat. Any such shipments will be subject to seizure and forfeiture because of invalid CITES documents. The trade can check for updated information on these designations at: http://www.cites.org/common/directy/e_directy.html.

 

It was my understanding that until a scientific committe was formed to survey the damage to the reefs that future exports would not be possible. With the current state of Tongan political affairs this is unlikely in the near future. I hope I am wrong.

[WAVES]

[language filter] no more afghani corals!

 

Ok so I dont have a serious post at this moment....