In an unprecedented move, global governments have agreed to extensive international trade bans and restrictions aimed at protecting shark and ray species that are at risk of extinction.
Last week, more than 70 species, including oceanic whitetip sharks, whale sharks, and manta rays, were granted new protections under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is a United Nations treaty that mandates countries to regulate or ban international trade in endangered species.
Sharks and rays, closely related as apex predators, are crucial for maintaining healthy marine ecosystems. Despite their importance, these species have been heavily caught and traded, contributing to an international market valued at nearly $1 billion annually, according to Luke Warwick, director of shark and ray conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
The comprehensive conservation measures were approved at the treaty’s 20th Conference of the Parties (COP20) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, marking a historic global pledge to curb the demand for shark meat, fins, and other derived products.
“These new protections are a powerful step toward ensuring these species have a real chance at recovery,” stated Diego Cardeñosa, an assistant professor at Florida International University and the lead scientist at the school’s Predator Ecology and Conservation Lab, which is pioneering new technologies to combat the illegal trade of sharks.
Currently, more than a third of shark and ray species face extinction. Over the past 50 years, populations of pelagic sharks, which inhabit open oceans, have plummeted by more than 70 percent. Furthermore, reef sharks have nearly disappeared from one in five coral reefs worldwide. “We’re in the middle of an extinction crisis for these species, and it’s somewhat of a silent crisis,” said Warwick. “It’s only in the last decade or so that we’ve really started to notice this, and the primary cause is overfishing.”