Victory Protecting Sharks in Panama at CITES-CoP19 We just madehistory protecting sharks at CoP19 in Panama by bringing Requiem sharks (including blue sharks), all hammerhead sharks, freshwater rays,and small guitarfish under protection from the international shark meat and fin trade. With the Shark Research Institute we have beensuccessfully lobbying, advocatingand supporting SharkProposals 37-40, providing new listings of sharks and rays under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Convention of the Parties (CoP19) in Panama, November 14-25, 2022.
Over 90 vulnerable and endangeredspecies of sharks and rays have been approved for addition to Appendix II, including several critically endangered species impacted by overfishing, loss of habitat and the wildlife trade. Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but may become so unless trade is closely controlled. Three major families of sharks and rays were listed under Appendix II including: all remaining unlisted hammerhead sharks in the familySphyrnidae; Requiem sharksin the Carcharhinidae (19 lead species, 35additional species); seven species of freshwater rays endemic to Brazil;and the family of small guitarfish,Rhinobatidae (6 critically endangeredspecies, 31 other species). All Proposals were given a strong majority vote by the delegates, providing hope for international protection of sharks and rays.
Many of these species are endangered or are considered look-alike species, meaning they are categorized as a species so similar that their parts (in this case fins) are easily confused with others which makes detection and enforcement difficult. Listing these species will help regulators enforce, and countries to better manage trade and fishing of endangeredsharks and rays. The listings will be made final after a final plenary session next week, but the majority supporting these proposals is so high thatwe do not anticipate any modificationsto the listings. Central American countries led by Panama, and west African countries like Senegal have been notable champions for sharks! It is predicted that controlling trade of these species will reduce the shark fin trade by potentially more than 50% and might save critically endangered species of sharks and rays. We are excited to share this great news forshark protection from Panama, and thank you for your passionate support! Vivas los Tiburones!