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Following is a question by the Hon Kam Nai-wai and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for the Environment, Dr Kitty Poon, in the Legislative Council meeting today (May 2):
Questions:
According to the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Atlantic bluefin tunas (bluefin tunas) are among the endangered species in the world, and the legitimate trade of bluefin tunas is regulated and supervised under the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Convention) drawn up by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. Currently, China is a signatory to the Convention but Hong Kong has not yet come under the regulation of the Convention. On the other hand, to enforce the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Trade Convention), the Government strictly regulates the trade of the endangered species listed in the Appendices of the Trade Convention through enacting the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap 586) (the Ordinance). Appendix I of Schedule 1 to the Ordinance lists species which are threatened with extinction and their import and export are strictly prohibited except for certain special purposes such as scientific study and display in museum; Appendix II includes species which may become extinct unless their trade is under control; and species in Appendix III are those identified by any Party to the Trade Convention as requiring international trade regulation, so as to protect them from over-exploitation. According to the provisions of the Ordinance, licences are required for the import and export of the controlled species as mentioned above. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether at present the Government has any policy and regulation to monitor the legitimate and illegitimate trade of bluefin tunas in Hong Kong;
(b) whether any plan is in place for Hong Kong to implement the provisions of the Convention so as to ensure that Hong Kong will not become an illegal trading centre for bluefin tunas;
(c) in the past five years, of the number of persons prosecuted and convicted for contravening the Ordinance, and the highest and lowest penalties imposed on the convicted persons (with a breakdown by year and case involving the species listed in Appendices I, II and III); the number of persons who were granted licences for the import and export of controlled species, and the respective numbers of imported and exported species (with a breakdown by year and species);
(d) in respect of the species listed in Appendix I, of the respective numbers of animals and plants which were allowed to be imported and exported for certain special purposes such as scientific study and display in museum, etc., as well as the species to which they belong (with a breakdown by year and species) in the past five years; how the Government ensured that such animals and plants were used for the specified special purposes only; and
(e) whether it regularly reviews and updates the species included under the Appendices of Schedule 1 to the Ordinance; if it does, of the details, and whether it has any plan to include bluefin tunas in the Appendices; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (the Convention) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) fall within the policy areas of the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) and the Environment Bureau respectively. Having consolidated the information provided by the FHB in response to parts (a) and (b) of the question, our reply to various parts of the question raised by Hon Kam Nai-wai is as follows:
(a) The application of the Convention (including the regulatory measures relating to Atlantic bluefin tunas under the Convention) has not been extended to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The Hong Kong Imports and Exports Classification List (Harmonised System) (the Harmonised System) of the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) currently includes the commodity description and trade code of Atlantic bluefin tunas. A customs declaration shall be filed and the correct commodity description and trade code under the Harmonised System shall be provided for the import and export of Atlantic bluefin tunas. At the request of the Secretariat of or the Contracting Parties to the Convention, we will assist with the investigation of suspected cases of import of Atlantic bluefin tunas not in compliance with the regulatory system under the Convention. For instance, we will provide the relevant import and export information for follow-up by the Secretariat or the Contracting Parties.
(b) The import volume of Atlantic bluefin tunas into Hong Kong is not substantial. Based on the information provided by the C&SD, the import of Atlantic bluefin tunas into Hong Kong last year accounted for about 1% of the total allowable catch set by the Convention. We will continue to monitor the trading of Atlantic bluefin tunas in Hong Kong. Where necessary, we will review if the measures relating to Atlantic bluefin tunas under the Convention should be implemented in Hong Kong.
(c) The numbers of prosecutions and convictions for contravention of the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586) (the Ordinance) with the penalties imposed in the past five years are shown in Table 1.
As regards the number of licence holders in respect of the import and export of controlled species and the volume of import and export by species, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has no statistics on either. The Department, however, keeps track of the number of licences issued each year (note: each licence is valid for one shipment only). The numbers of import licences and export licences issued by the AFCD in the past five years are shown in Table 2.
(d) The numbers and species of CITES Appendix I species permitted for import and export for special purposes such as scientific research or display in a museum in the past five years are shown in Table 3.
In order to ensure that the species concerned are only used for special purposes as specified, when processing an application for the import and export of an Appendix I species, the AFCD will verify the information submitted by the applicant, including the necessary supporting documents, the nature of business of the applicant's organisation (for example, a scientific research institution or a museum) and the source of the species concerned. In addition, the AFCD will specify on the licence the purpose of import or export. When importing or exporting the species concerned, authorised officers will examine the specimen concerned to ensure consistency with the information set out in the CITES licence.
(e) The Government's established practice is to strictly follow the CITES regulations and bring all the species controlled under CITES within the scope of control under the Ordinance. The Parties to the CITES hold regular Conferences of the Parties (CoP) to discuss in detail the species to be controlled under the CITES. This includes listing certain species in the Appendices to the CITES for control and deleting certain species which no longer require control. Once a proposal is adopted in the CoP, Hong Kong will follow the CoP decision and amend the scope of control under the Ordinance accordingly.
The last CITES CoP was held in Qatar in March 2010, and the meeting discussed whether Atlantic bluefin tuna should be listed as a CITES Appendix I species. As the proposal was not carried ultimately, Atlantic bluefin tuna is currently not subject to control under the Ordinance. We will closely follow the relevant discussions at the CoP and timely bring new species adopted for listing under the CITES within the scope of control under the Ordinance.
Ends/Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:29
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