New curbs on trade in threatened sharks come into force
Tightened regulations covering the trade in shark and ray products come into force on Sunday with exporting countries facing sanctions if they fail to ensure sustainability
Seven threatened species of shark and ray are to get greater protection, as a historic agreement aimed at safeguarding the world’s oldest predator takes effect, conservationists said on Thursday.
The 178 members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) agreed in March last year to tighten regulations on the trade of the three types of hammerhead shark, the porbeagle and oceanic whitetip shark, and two types of manta ray.
The deal, which will take effect on Sunday, requires countries to issue export permits to ensure the sustainability of the sharks in the wild, otherwise they could face sanctions.
“Now the real work [of enforcement] starts ... the stocks of some of these species may already be too low to allow any fishing.”
“The listing was a victory for science over politics,” Andy Cornish, who heads a shark preservation initiative backed by WWF and wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic, said in a statement.
More than 70 million sharks are killed worldwide every year, according to WWF, with high demand for shark fins in Asia the biggest driver of the overfishing.
Sharks populations have decreased rapidly, sending some species to the brink of extinction.
Traffic has estimated the total value of the shark fin trade at more than US$480 million per year, with the fish hunted for their meat, leather, liver oil and cartilage.