Shark fin hunters in the soup as Panama wildlife summit takes action
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species voted to approve a proposal to include requiem and hammerhead sharks on its endangered list
- Shark fins – which represent a market of some US$500 million per year – can sell for about US$1,000 a kg in East Asia for use in shark fin soup, a delicacy
A global wildlife summit in Panama took an important step on Thursday towards upgrading protection for sharks, the ancient ocean vertebrates targeted for their fins used in a status-symbol soup.
A committee voted to approve a proposal to include requiem and hammerhead sharks on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
The appendix lists species that may not yet be threatened with extinction but may become so unless their trade is closely controlled.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), advocating for the sharks’ inclusion on the appendix, said the requiem shark family makes up at least 70 per cent of the fin trade.
According to Luke Warwick of the Wildlife Conservation Society, “we are in the middle of a very large shark extinction crisis.”
He said sharks, which are vital to the ocean’s ecosystem, are “the second most threatened vertebrate group on the planet.”
Shark fins – which represent a market of some US$500 million per year – can sell for about US$1,000 a kilogram in East Asia for use in shark fin soup, a delicacy.