Cites Update!!!!

[Jonthefishguy]

In case most of you dont know, there will be NO shipment of coral or live rock from TONGA for a while. There is an issue with the CITES permits and the way the govt. issues them. So until they straighten it all out, all shipment across the world for live rock and coral will cease until further notice. As of what I am being told, fish are still available. This issue could be as short as a few weeks or as long as a few months.

I just wanted to make you all aware of what may be everyones last opportunity for quite some time to see Australian corals including acans as well as some corals from other locations. In case most of you are not aware, CITES has shut down collection in several key locations for collecting coral until the permit process has been reformed.
Do not go out and buy aussie coral that is now affordable and in a few weeks be labeled, RARE. As soon as CITES is fixed, everything will be back to normal.

[aggie4231]

Last I saw, Australia was in the clear. Tonga has complied with CITES for almost 2 years(no scientific council/ management authority). One of the things with CITES is issuing quotas on the amount that is collected, along with basically a management plan. Walt Smith is working hard to help resolve this because he will go out of business if he can't export coral/live rock from Tonga.

[Jonthefishguy]

Walt just released 80% of his workforce. I got the memo.

[Richard]

Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Maldives, Tonga, Haiti. I hope they get it resolved soon or it's going to be slim pickins before too long.

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/files/citesusfws_129.pdf

[Jonthefishguy]

Thanks, I was about to post it, but I hadnt gotten around to it yet. Since I order directly from the collectors and not the wholesalers, the memo's were sent to me as a courtesy. From what I was told over the phone about 3 hours ago is that there is nothing to worry about. Just a bump in the road and everything will be back to normal soon enough. No worries....

[Jonthefishguy]

Just got another email from another supplier:


Hey John,


Sorry to inform you but Tonga has been shut the last few days. I don't know when Tonga will be open. I am sure you heard by now that Walt Smith has said that he layed off 80% of his tonga work force. Lets hope that the Tonga gets it worked out. That would be a huge dissappointment if he went under. By the way Tonga was not the only place that the US put a ban on shipments from. It seems that it also included these countries:

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.

Sorry, but I will let you know when everything is back on track.



Trey