Kiwis heading for warmer destinations for their mid-winter breaks are being urged to check the CITES rules if they plan to return to New Zealand with tropical trinkets.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is the New Zealand management authority for CITES, the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species. The convention monitors and controls international travel of items containing protected animals and plants. It ensures that long-term survival of species is not threatened.
DOC's Acting Team Lead Border Operations Storm Heaven says many New Zealanders head for the warmth of Pacific Islands, Queensland, or even Hawaii to escape the New Zealand winter – and many of those travellers will want to bring back mementoes of their holidays.
"Many items found in markets or even on the beach in the Pacific Islands come from threatened species – good examples include some shark teeth or jaws, and all giant clams and stony corals," Storm says.
"It means if your souvenir is from a species protected by CITES, a permit from the country of export is needed, and in some cases, we will need to issue a permit for the item to be brought into New Zealand."
Among the CITES items brought back by holidaymakers who've travelled to Queensland are packets of crocodile jerky. Although the snacks are sold legally, from farmed crocodiles, the products must be accompanied by a CITES export permit issued from Australia.
In 2024 coral, clams and crocodile jerky made up 62% of all seizures:
"Seizures of those types items alone totalled1.26 tons: that's the equivalent weight of a male giraffe, which is also a CITES-listed species."
Storm says the mid-year school holidays are a noted "spike" period for DOC's CITES team, with an increase in seizures due to people not obtaining the correct permits.
DOC's figures show seizures of CITES-listed corals and clam shells at the border spike during school holiday periods of April, July and October.
Since 2017 (excluding the COVID years of 2020 and 2021, when NZ's borders were closed) CITES corals and clams seizures were on average 50% higher during the school holiday periods than other times.
Although CITES seizures are generally trending down, DOC continues to see noticeable increases in the seizure of these items during holiday periods.
"We understand many families want to bring back memories of their holidays, and we urge them to visit the CITES section of the DOC website to find out more about the permit process and how they can ensure their travel trinkets can be enjoyed into the future.
"Ask yourself, 'are my goods all good?', and if you're not sure – check online."
