South africa mysteriously withdraws proposal to protect endangered abalone from illegal wildlife trade

South Africa stunned delegates at last week’s CITES wildlife trade summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, by abruptly withdrawing a crucial proposal to strengthen protections for its endangered abalone species. The country offered no public explanation for the sudden reversal, leaving conservationists and other nations puzzled about the decision.

South African abalone, a large sea snail prized as a delicacy in East Asian markets, has been devastated by decades of massive overfishing and illegal harvesting. The lucrative trade—dominated by organized transnational crime syndicates and local gangs—has pushed the species toward the brink of extinction. Despite this crisis, the mollusk fishery remains a vital source of income for thousands of people living in coastal communities across South Africa’s Eastern and Western Cape provinces.

The withdrawn proposal would have listed abalone under CITES Appendix II, subjecting all international commercial trade to strict import and export regulations. Such protections could have provided a critical lifeline for the species while helping combat the rampant illegal trade networks that currently exploit it.

Unlike previous instances where countries have withdrawn species proposals at CITES summits, South Africa provided no public statement or explanation to fellow delegates. A spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment told reporters that reasons for the withdrawal would only be shared once there’s “more clarity on certain issues”—leaving the conservation community to speculate about what political or economic pressures may have influenced this controversial decision.