WASHINGTON, May 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 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).
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160429/361956
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."
CITES is 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
proposal: 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.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge
to solve today's most challenging problems. Learn more
at www.pewtrusts.org.
Contact: Barb Cvrkel,
202-540-6535, bcvrkel@pewtrusts.org