Species under Consideration: 

Extinction Risk for Aquatic Organisms:
Contrary to what might be concluded from the full title of CITES, that Convention does not cover species threatened with extinction or endangered species only.  … It is important for the fisheries community to be aware of this.  A commercially-exploited species that is not actually endangered may in fact be listed in CITES appendices. … Considering the current lists of species in CITES appendices, it appears obvious that many commercially-exploited marine species could be listed in Appendix II on the basis of the criteria in force and because of the way CITES is implemented by the Conference of the Parties.

The Context of CITES in Marine Conservation Systems:
Under no circumstances, can nor should CITES replace a sound management regime for fisheries. Control of international trade, as CITES implies, must not be considered as more than an additional measure that could be valid in specific conditions.  … CITES will not correct bad fisheries management. Conversely, good fisheries management does not need, in most cases, trade controls as provided for by CITES.

Evaluation of CITES Criteria with Respect to their Applicability to Exploited Marine Species:
… the main purpose of the analysis and of the recommendations to be made should be to ensure that, in the context of fisheries concerns, the biological criteria would be revised as to prevent the inclusion in Appendix I of CITES of any species (stock) subject to large-scale fisheries unless such listing is fully justified and has the support of the fisheries community.

Populations and Sub-populations:
The prevalence of management over trade controls is going beyond CITES purposes and could only be achieved through ways other than listing criteria, such as agreements or memoranda of understanding between CITES and the interested fisheries organizations, whether or not the species meet the CITES criteria.

Key Concerns and Conclusions:
It would be a serious error for the fisheries community to consider any negative consequences associated with CITES interfering with fisheries issues unfounded.  …Extreme vigilance must be maintained to avoid decisions that will be very difficult to correct at a later stage.

Suggestions for Rewording Biological Criteria for Listing Species in CITES Appendix I:

Other Issues that May or May not Have Been Considered at the Technical Consultation:

The need to consider the social and economic aspects of fisheries is of critical importance. It appears however difficult to introduce them in the criteria for amendment of Appendices I and II. They should be used separately to prevent unjustified listings or listings which are not of last resort. This should therefore be seriously considered by COFI and RFMOs before and while negotiating co-operation with CITES.

The establishment or strengthening of the dialogue is a critical importance, perhaps even more important than the review of the criteria itself. It would be necessary however that the fisheries community clarifies its own views on the issue first and determines what is acceptable and what is not acceptable for it.