A Smuggler’s Favorite, the Zebra Pleco “L46” Receives CITES Listing
04 Nov, 2016
The beguiling little Zebra Pleco gains CITES protections called for by Brazil to stop illegal smuggling. Legal, aquacultured specimen shown in the Segrest Farms wholesale catalog. Image © Animal Graphics, courtesy Segrest Farms.
Special Report by Matt Pedersen
with the AMAZONAS Staff
Overlooked in the recent flurry of headlines coming out of Johannesburg, South Africa, as the 2016 CITES Conference announced listing changes for some 500 species of wild plants and animals whose survival is considered threatened
as defined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: “Any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range” (from the Endangered Species Act)." class="glossaryLink " style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color 0.2s linear; outline: none; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important;">threatened or endangeredas defined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: “The classification provided to an animal or plant in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range” (from the Endangered Species Act)." class="glossaryLink " style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color 0.2s linear; outline: none; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important;">endangered, Brazil has moved quietly to add a popular and charismatic aquarium fish for protection under CITES Appendix III. The historic CITES gathering made world news with new listings of the Thresher Shark, Devil Rays, many Rosewood trees, cheetahs, tigers, and hornbills, while one small fish emerged with a new status but little public fanfare.
Known as the Imperial Zebra Pleco, Hypancistrus zebra, “L46”, the little loricariad catfish is endemic in the Rio Xingu watershed and is coveted by aquarium keepers but feared to be vulnerable to over-collection, although captive breeding efforts are producing an unknown quantity of specimens to meet consumer demands. With supplies limited, the prices of this species have sometimes reached astronomical levels, and a leading online livestock retailer is currently offering captive-bred [CB]
In aquarium usage, a description of a fish or invertebrate that was spawned, hatched, settled, and grown to the juvenile or adult stage in an enclosed system not connected to the wild habitat. See also: tank-raised." class="glossaryLink " style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: color 0.2s linear; outline: none; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important;">captive-bred Zebra or “Altimira Plectostomus” for $299 each.
Unlike other CITES-listed animals and plants, Appendix III species may be named by their country of origin unilaterally without challenge or debate, on the premise that each sovereign nation has a right to protect its own unique biological resources. (Brazil’s late addition to its Appendix III Species posting was listed on October 5 and reported to AMAZONAS by Sven Fosså from Norway.)
Appendix III Impacts
The Zebra Plecostomus joins several freshwater stingray species which received Appendix III listings at the request of source countries, including Potamotrygon constellata, Potamotrygon magdalenae, Potamotrygon motoro, Potamotrygon orbignyi, Potamotrygon schroederi, Potamotrygon scobina, and Potamotrygon yepezi, all requested by Columbia. Brazil simply requested that all fishes of the genus Potamotrygon be included under Appendix III.
The Zebra Pleco has proved difficult to mass produce, even in the hands of determined commercial breeders. Image by A. Birger, CC BY-SA 3.0
An Appendix III listing mandates that international trade in the species be documented, and establishes paper-trail regulations for exporters and importers that must be adhered to. Appendix III listings do not ban trade, nor do they affect interstate trade within a country. Based on current CITES information, these species will require either an export permit from the listing state (in the case of H. zebra, from Brazil or any country where captive-bred), or if exported (or re-exported) from any other country, a certificate of origin is required. While the commercial trade in Appendix III species remains legal, it becomes more expensive and onerous for importers and exporters.
Per the CITES notification, “In accordance with the provisions of Article XVI, paragraph 2, of the Convention, inclusion of these species in Appendix III shall take effect 90 days after the date of this Notification, i.e. on 3 January 2017.” For further information, visit https://cites.org/eng/disc/how.php
Thwarting Black Market Trade
The move to add H. zebra to CITES Appendix III is believed to be primarily an effort by Brazil to curtail ongoing smuggling of wild-collected specimens via neighboring countries.
According to AMAZONAS Editor Michael Tuccinardi, who has been following the trade in South American fishes, “The fish is illegal to collect, transport, and export in its native Brazil. However, with the ongoing ban and the high price this fish commands on the international market, a thriving black market trade has developed. The fish is still collected in the Xingu’s Volta Grande, but now instead of being sent to Belem for export, the fish must cross into neighboring Peru or Colombia, where some exporters are happy to trade in this high-value rarity.
Brazilian governmental IBAMA poster shows plecostomus-type species that have restrictions on collection and export. Credit: Michael J. Tuccinardi
“The governments of both countries have recently come under pressure from Brazil to crack down on this smuggling—and they have, to some extent. Several exporters in Peru were stuck with hundreds of wild L046 that they could no longer export when I visited earlier this year, although many smaller exporters still manage to circumvent the rules. In Colombia, a similar situation exists, with many smaller exporters offering Zebra Plecos, along with an array of other banned Brazilian species. Several exporters I spoke to indicated that increasing pressure from customers in the Asian and European markets have pushed them into supplying these fish—which can be risky for the exporter.”
