Oceania Chondrichthyan Society
A u s t r a l i a - P a c i f i c
I s l a n d s - P a p u a
N e w
G u i n e a - N e w
Z e a l a n d
The Director
Executive Coordination
Parks Australia
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
By email to: grm@environment.gov.au
22 Aug 2014
Dear Sir/Madam
Re: Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol
On behalf of the members of the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society, we are writing to you to provide
expert advice regarding Australia’s implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, the instrument intended to
implement benefit sharing obligations specified in the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Oceania
Chondrichthyan Society (OCS) is Australia's largest professional association of shark and ray scientists
with over 130 members throughout Australia and 12 other countries. Our members work across
research agencies, universities, museums, government departments, and the private sector. The OCS
actively promotes and facilitates education about, and the conservation and scientific study of
chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras). The Society also engages in policy and public
debate where specialist knowledge is required about shark and ray research, conservation and
management.
The OCS supports the general intent of the Nagoya Protocol and agrees that communities and
traditional owners should have fair and equitable access to benefits derived from the use of genetic
resources, in particular, from commercial research fields such as bio-prospecting. However, we are
deeply concerned about the possible un-intentional ramifications of the implementation of the Protocol
on non-commercial conservation and genetic research and alpha taxonomic studies on Australia’s
biodiversity.
Australia has a unique shark and ray fauna (and fish more generally) which until recently was poorly
defined. This is best reflected in the number of new shark and ray species described from Australia in
the last 10 years; more than 70 species. Taxonomy is the foundation for all other life sciences and is
essential for biodiversity, ecological and conservation studies. A number of the sharks and rays
described are of high conservation concern, and several are listed as Critically Endangered by theEPBC
Act. Furthermore, taxonomic and molecular population genetic studies are critical for understanding the
spatial and temporal distributional ranges of species and this information underpins Australia’s marine
bioregional planning, and for fisheries management. Good examples include the gulper sharks
(Centrophorus spp) and river sharks (Glyphis spp) which are highly threatened but the taxonomy of
which was only recently resolved. Taxonomic and population genetics research draws heavily upon
international collaborations between museums and research centres. Resolving the taxonomy of these
threatened and endangered species could not have occurred if restrictions prevented exchange of
specimens and tissue samples between countries and institutions.
We understand that the importance of the Nagoya Protocol with respect to the bio-prospecting and
biotechnology sectors, however, we are concerned about the flow-on effects of the implementation of
this protocol for taxonomic research and subsequent conservation and management outcomes.
Researchers need to access specimens lodged in museums for their studies and to share tissue samples
for molecular genetic studies. Australia already has strict protocols in place regarding loaning of material
between collections that ensure that material is only exchanged between institutions that are registered
by the Australian Government. This system strikes a workable balance between transparency,
accountability, and practicality that allows taxonomic work to continue. Using the existing protocols, a
large amount of material is exchanged with other collections to facilitate taxonomic research related to
Australia’s fauna. We hope that this process will not be affected by the Nagoya Protocol, which was
ultimately aimed at commercial and product development from molecular resources.
Our recommendations are that, for non-commercial molecular, genetic and taxonomic research:
 material for non-commercial molecular, genetic and taxonomic research in the fields of
taxonomy, ecology, conservation and natural resource management are exempted from the
Protocol and allowed to be exchanged freely following the existing system agreed by the
Australian Government and State institutions, i.e. usage of scientific specimens for noncommercial purposes. The OCS notes that the contributions of communities and traditional
owners to accessing and obtaining such material must be acknowledged.
 specimens that have been fixed in preservatives rendering them not suitable for molecular
studies (e.g. formalin) or very old specimens should be exempt from the Nagoya Protocol.
 Taxonomists and geneticists are invited to join in any committees or workshops regarding
implementation of the Nagoya Protocols.
We hope that you will carefully consider these issues as the Government develops its response to the
Nagoya Protocol, so that taxonomic and molecular population genetics research is not unduly
constrained, and we look forward to your reply and to further engagement on this important issue.
Sincerely
Dr Susan Theiss
President
Oceania Chondrichthyan Society
Dr Andrew Chin
Vice President
Oceania Chondrichthyan Society