WASHINGTON—In an unprecedented global call to
action, more than 50 countries have agreed to co-sponsor one or more of
the proposals to nominate all species of thresher shark, the silky
shark, and all species of mobula ray for protection
under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
April 27th marked the deadline for countries to add their names in support of Appendix II listing
proposals submitted earlier this year. Those listings would require
that all continuing trade in these species be sustainable. Co-sponsors
include a wide range of countries in Africa, the host region for this
year’s CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP17)
meeting, along with the European Union and its 28 member nations, and
many other countries from all around the world.
“It’s clear that CITES member governments have
again put a priority on protecting shark and ray species that continue
to be threatened with extinction because of widespread, unsustainable
international trade in fins and gills,” said
Luke Warwick, director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ global shark
conservation campaign. “The global support we are witnessing far
surpasses that seen for previous Appendix II listings proposals and
confirms the key role that CITES now plays in protecting
the world’s sharks and rays.”
CITESis recognized globally as one of the most
effective and best-enforced international conservation agreements. It
provides protection to more than 30,000 species around the world and has
been instrumental in preventing the extinction
of many plants and animals. Votes on the proposed listings for
thresher and silky sharks and mobula rays will take place at the CITES
meeting in Johannesburg in September.
In recent decades, silky and thresher shark populations have declined
more than 70 percent, while mobula rays have
suffered similar reductions. That qualifies each for listing on CITES
Appendix II. The declines have been driven largely by the international
demand for fins and gills.
Before the last CITES conference four years ago,
the international trade of sharks and shark products was essentially
unregulated. That meeting produced
landmark Appendix II listings for five species of sharks and all
manta rays, meaning that for the first time, countries had to prove that
any catch of these species was sustainable before engaging in trade.
The 2013 listings have helped protect and better
manage these species globally; however, that translates into regulation
of only about 10 percent of the global shark fin trade. Many types of
sharks and rays are listed as threatened on the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of
Threatened Species, though they do not have adequate protection from
unsustainable catch and trade.
Recognizing the value and importance of healthy
shark and ray populations to their marine ecosystems and national
economies, the governments of Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Fiji are
seeking to build on the momentum created by the 2013 listings.
In January, Sri Lanka submitted a proposal to protect three species of
thresher sharks, the Maldives submitted one for silky sharks, and Fiji
submitted one for all species of mobula ray. The proposals have
received strong support from governments around the
world.
“With more than 100 million sharks killed every
year around the world, and 25 percent of all shark and ray species now
assessed by the IUCN as threatened with extinction, we as a global
community need to act urgently to help the most vulnerable
populations,” said Abdulla Naseer, Ph.D., senior policy executive for
the Maldives’ Ministry of Environment and Energy.
The implementation of the 2013 shark and ray listings has been
widely hailed as a success. Dozens of governments all over the world
have put domestic measures in place, and many have hosted training
workshops for fisheries, customs, and environment officials on how best
to create full protections or sustainable export
limits, as well as the customs checks needed to prevent illegal trade.
“Numerous capacity development workshops have taken
place to provide governments with the necessary information and tools
to regulate the global shark fin and mobulid gill plate
trade,” said Sumith Pilapitiya, Ph.D., director general of Sri Lanka’s
Department of Wildlife Conservation. “To prepare for the new CITES
listings, which will be adopted at CoP17, updated identification and
training tools have been made available for countries
to use once again.”
Eleni Tokaduadua, principal environment officer for
Fiji’s Environment Ministry, said leaders around the world recognize
the need for action. “Key governments from each continent, whether
they have established shark sanctuaries or still
record large shark and ray landings, have noted population declines,’’
Tokaduadua said. “They have chosen to add their support to these
proposals to grant global protections and ensure only sustainable trade
continues for these species that have been targeted
by largely unmanaged fisheries.”
Said Warwick, “The rest of the world now has the
opportunity to give these species the protections they need and list
them on Appendix II of CITES, an act that could make the difference
between extinction and recovery.”
The full list of countries
cosponsoring one or more proposals:Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin,
Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji,
Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mauritania, Netherlands, Palau,
Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Samoa, Senegal,
Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka,
Sweden, The Bahamas, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA.