Samarkand, 27 November 2025 – Today brought a modest but meaningful step forward for the monitoring and hence hopfully conservation of marine ornamental fishes. Since discussions began in 2019—when Switzerland, the European Union, and the United States submitted a proposal requesting to scrutinize this trade—the issue has though slowly moved through the CITES process.
In 2024, a technical workshop held in Brisbane, Australia gathered 140 stakeholders from science, industry, and conservation to assess existing information and management practices. Based on the workshop’s findings, the CITES Animals Committee, the Convention’s expert body for animal-related matters, recommended five decisions intended to strengthen oversight and guide future research.
Although only two of these decisions were ultimately retained (20 DD and 20 EE), their adoption ensures that marine ornamental fishes will remain on the CITES agenda. This continuation, even if incremental, demonstrates that the financial and human resources invested so far were not in vain and that further progress remains possible.
You can hear my intervention here: