Posted on 14 March 2013
| Dr. Carlos Drews, head of WWF’s CITES
delegation, issued the following statement
in reaction to today’s historic vote to
regulate trade of several species of sharks
and manta rays:
“This is a historic
moment, where science has prevailed over
politics, as sharks and manta rays are being
obliterated from our oceans. This decision
will put a major dent in the uncontrolled
trade in shark meat and fins, which is rapidly
destroying populations of these precious
animals to feed the growing demand for luxury
goods.”
“These timely decisions
to have trade in sharks and manta rays regulated
by CITES show that governments can muster
the political will to keep our oceans healthy,
securing food and other benefits for generations
to come – and we hope to see similar action
in the future to protect other commercially
exploited and threatened marine species,
both at the national and international level.”
Governments on Thursday
reaffirmed the stronger protections for
three species of hammerheads, in addition
to porbeagles, oceanic whitetips, and two
species of manta rays. The sharks and manta
rays were listed on CITES’ Appendix II,
seeking to regulate their international
trade to sustainable levels.
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WWF: Five species of
sharks proposed for CITES listing
Posted on 11 March 2013
| Carlos Drews, head of WWF’s delegation
at the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES) issued the
following statement today in response to
decisions from world governments to offer
better protection for five species of sharks:
“This is a landmark
moment showing that the world’s governments
support sustainable fisheries and are concerned
about the reckless over-exploitation of
sharks for commercial use. Today’s decision
will go a long way in slowing down the frenzied
overfishing of sharks that is pushing them
to the brink of collapse to feed the luxury
goods market.”
“Regulating the trade
of marine species like sharks, which are
facing unprecedented commercial pressures,
is key to saving them and ensuring our oceans
contribute to food security by staying healthy
and productive”.
“It has been shown today
that governments followed the best available
science to make decisions on commercially
exploited marine life. We encourage governments
to stick by these decisions and not reopen
the debate before the end of the week –
or put this victory for sharks at risk.”
All of the shark proposals
under consideration could come up again
before the CITES conference ends on Thursday.
Governments at CITES
voted to accept all three species of sharks
today proposed for listing on to CITES appendix
II, which will regulate trade in shark fin
and meat.
The species included:
Oceanic whitetip shark vote: Yes 92 (68.7%),
No 42, Abs 8
Scalloped, great and smooth hammerhead shark
vote: Yes 91 (70%), No 39, Abs 8
Porbeagle shark vote: Yes 93 (70.4%), No
39, Abs 8
Shark populations are
decreasing at a rapid rate across the globe
with losses of up to 86 per cent in some
locations.
The market for shark
products is first and foremost a luxury
one with sharks fin selling for up to $135/kg
in Hong Kong.
A listing of Appendix
II will regulate trade internationally reducing
the risk of extinction of these species.
This is not the first
time that shark species have come up at
CITES. Porbeagle missed out on being listed
in 2010 by one vote on the last day when
the proposal was re-opened.
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The fight to save threatened
sharks and rays
Posted on 06 March 2013
| Forty years ago the international community
decided to combat the critical issue of
trading endangered species globally.
In Washington the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species
of wild fauna and flora (CITES) was born
with the objective to protect wild plants
and animals from the risk of extinction.
To do this plants and
animals can be proposed for listing on the
convention`s appendices I, II and III. Successful
listing either ban trade, limit it if harvesting
is done within sustainable levels or help
conserve them.
The increased level
of threat facing many of our marine species
due to unsustainable fishing is being discussed
here in Bangkok during the 16th Conference
of the Parties of CITES. It is a chance
for the 178 countries that are members of
the convention to demonstrate that it can
fulfil its core objective for five species
of sharks, two species of manta ray and
one species of sawfish.
Sharks and rays are
grouped together because of their anatomical
similarity having skeletons of cartilage
rather than bone. They are especially vulnerable
to overfishing. Compared to most fish species,
they take a long time to reach an age where
they can reproductive and have relatively
few offspring in their lifetimes.
Some species such as
hammerhead sharks and manta rays aggregate
in large numbers at certain times of the
year making themselves even more vulnerable
to being fished.
Because of their role
as apex predators, they are the tigers of
the sea, their extinction from the ocean
would have profound and devastating ecological
consequences.
The market for shark
and ray products is first and foremost a
luxury one. The fins, in the case of certain
shark species, are used in shark fin soup.
It`s a status symbol to include sharks fin
as a standard menu item in Chinese celebratory
banquets. Hammerhead shark fin is a particular
favourite and has been recorded as costing
as much as $135/kg in Hong Kong.
The gill plates, in
the case of manta rays, are used in China
for a tonic soup that has become fashionable
because of its perceived medicinal properties,
even though it is not in the traditional
Chinese pharmacopoeia. This is a recent
trend and has caused the demise of some
population of manta ray to decrease by up
to 86% in the last six to eight years.
Over the years a few
shark species have been listed by CITES
including the whale and basking sharks,
and great white shark, which has limited
international trade to sustainable levels
and helped reduce the threat of overfishing.
Nevertheless, recent
meetings have failed to adopt proposals
to list more commercially important species.
In 2000 proposals relating
to the three largest hammerhead shark species
and the oceanic whitetip shark, both of
which are valued for their fins, and the
porbeagle shark, which is valued for both
fins and meat failed to be adopted.
Hammerheads, whitetip
and porbeagle sharks are up for debate again,
sponsored on this occasion by a range of
countries across the Americas, Europe and
Africa.
Meanwhile, Brazil, Colombia
and Ecuador are proposing that manta rays
also be added to limit trade.
It should be remembered
that the core objective of CITES is to protect
wild fauna and flora from over-exploitation
through international trade. It is time
that the convention fulfilled this mandate
with respect to these uniquely vulnerable
and iconic species.
