More Protection Urged for Rare Chilean Sea Bass at CITES BANGKOK
Environmentalists urged fishing nations on Thursday to do more
to protect the rare Chilean sea bass (also known as Patagonian
toothfish), dubbed the "white gold" of the sea who is being
driven to extinction by rampant poaching. "Ultimately, toothfish
can only be saved by immediate international intervention
similar to protection accorded to other threatened species," the
U.S.-based National Environment Trust (NET) said in a report.
The report, "Black Market for White Gold," was released at the
two-week meeting of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES) in the Thai capital. CITES regulates
global trade in endangered plants and animals, and Australia has
put forward a resolution urging more cooperation in the fight
against illegal fishing. But environmentalists are disappointed
that no member state has submitted a proposal to list the
toothfish on one of the CITES appendices which would clamp
tighter restrictions on the