A leading environmental group called on Friday for protection for the great white shark and humphead wrasse coral fish, whose numbers have plunged because of overfishing and China's growing appetite for exotic foods. The urgent call, made ahead of a U.N. conference on endangered species in Bangkok, also covers Asian freshwater turtles, the yellow-crested cockatoo and the plants cistanche and agarwood. Officials of the WWF global conservation group in Hong Kong called for the six species to be urgently listed in the appendixes of a U.N. environment charter, saying there was no time to waste. "The humphead wrasse live in colonies so when they are caught, they are caught in schools. When that happens, whole colonies disappear," Clarus Chu, WWF assistant conservation officer, told a news conference. "In many places, like the Philippines, hunters are using cyanide to stun the fish, that not only depletes its population but wrecks coral reefs too," he added. Bangkok is hosting a gathering next month of signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The convention lists plants and animals depending on how endangered they are, with those listed on appendix 1 the most endangered and banned from trade with few exceptions. The wrasse is mainly exported by Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines and up to 60 percent of shipments end up in Hong Kong, where roughly half the amount is then re-exported to increasingly affluent mainland China. Hong Kong imported 46 tonnes of the fish in 2003, which fetches up to HK$1,100 (US$141) per kg. --more 1423 Local Time 1123 GMT
