NMFS / Interagency Working Group Evaluation of CITES Criteria and Guidelines.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: At present, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) criteria used to assess whether a population qualifies for inclusion in the CITES Appendices relate to (A) size of the population, (B) area of distribution of the population, and (C) declines in the size of the population. Numeric guidelines are provided as indicators of a small population (less than 5,000 individuals), a small subpopulation (less than 500 individuals), a restricted area of distribution for a population (less than 10,000 km2), a restricted area of distribution for a subpopula-tion (less than 500 km2), a high rate of decline (a decrease of 50% or more in total within 5 years or two generations whichever is longer or, for a small wild population, a decline of 20% or more in total within ten years or three generations whichever is longer), large fluctuations (population size or area of distribution varies widely, rapidly and frequently, with a variation greater than one order of magnitude), and a short-term fluctuation (one of two years or less). The Working Group discussed several broad issues of relevance to the CITES criteria and guidelines. These included the importance of the historical extent of decline versus the recent rate of decline; the utility and validity of incorporating relative population productivity into decline criteria; the utility of absolute numbers for defining small populations or small areas; the appropriateness of generation times as time frames for examining declines; the importance of the magnitude and frequency of fluctuations as factors affecting risk of extinction; and the overall utility of numeric thresh-olds or guidelines.

Jahresrückschau der Deutschen Wissenschaftlichen Kommission für Meeresforschung (DWK) - Pläne für die Zukunft

I. Einleitender Bericht - II. Das Problem der Fischereigrenzen (G. Meseck: Das Serecht nach der Ersten Genfer Konferenz 1958) - III. Technische und wirtschaftliche Probleme für die künftige deutsche Hochseefischerei (B. Freyberg: Technisch bedingte Aktionsgrenzen der heutigen deutschen Fischereiflotte und ihre künftige technische Entwicklung. A.v.Brandt: Vorschau auf die künftige Entwicklun der Fangtechnik. P.F. Meyer-Waarden: Neuere Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet der Elektrofischerei im Meer.) IV. Ergebnisse der vorjährigen Fangplatzsuche und Vorschläge zu einer Neuorganisation (A. Meyer:Die Suchreisen deutscher Trawler in die grönländischen Gewässer im Jahre 1958. K. Schubert: Die Suchreisen zur Erschließung neuer Fanggebiete für die Heringsfischerei.) V. Zur Frage neuer Fangmöglichkeiten auf dem Schelf und im offenen Ozean (U. Schmidt: Gibt es neue Fangmöglichkeiten auf dem Schelf. H.J. Aurich: Biologische Anhaltspunkte für Fangmöglichkeiten im offenen Ozean. E.H. Rogalla: Über hydrographische Anhaltspunkte für Fangmöglichkeiten im offenen Ozean.)

Evaluation of the economic costs and benefits of methods for reducing nutrient loads to the Gulf of Mexico: Topic 6 Report for the Integrated Assessment on Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.

In this report we analyze the Topic 5 report’s recommendations for reducing nitrogen losses to the Gulf of Mexico (Mitsch et al. 1999). We indicate the relative costs and cost-effectiveness of different control measures, and potential benefits within the Mississippi River Basin. For major nonpoint sources, such as agriculture, we examine both national and basin costs and benefits. Based on the Topic 2 economic analysis (Diaz and Solow 1999), the direct measurable dollar benefits to Gulf fisheries of reducing nitrogen loads from the Mississippi River Basin are very limited at best. Although restoring the ecological communities in the Gulf may be significant over the long term, we do not currently have information available to estimate the benefits of such measures to restore the Gulf’s long-term health. For these reasons, we assume that measures to reduce nitrogen losses to the Gulf will ultimately prove beneficial, and we concentrate on analyzing the cost-effectiveness of alternative reduction strategies. We recognize that important public decisions are seldom made on the basis of strict benefit–cost analysis, especially when complete benefits cannot be estimated. We look at different approaches and different levels of these approaches to identify those that are cost-effective and those that have limited undesirable secondary effects, such as reduced exports, which may result in lost market share. We concentrate on the measures highlighted in the Topic 5 report, and also are guided by the source identification information in the Topic 3 report (Goolsby et al. 1999). Nonpoint sources that are responsible for the bulk of the nitrogen receive most of our attention. We consider restrictions on nitrogen fertilizer levels, and restoration of wetlands and riparian buffers for denitrification. We also examine giving more emphasis to nitrogen control in regions contributing a greater share of the nitrogen load.