Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Conservation and trade in sea cucumbers

The issue of sea cucumber trade and conservation was first brought to the attention of CITES in 2002 through a discussion paper submitted at the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in December 2002 (see document CoP12 Doc. 45 on the CITES Secretariat website at http://www. cites.org). CITES Parties adopted a decision stating that the CITES Secretariat should convene a technical workshop on the matter. Parties also instructed the CITES Animals Committee (a scientific advisory body) to review its outcomes and formulate follow-up recommendations.