Sharks are hunted mainly for the fin trade and its overfishing cause the extinction of five shark species. To protect these sharks, CITES delegates have voted against better international trade controls for five shark species, which are in severe decline because of overfishing for their high-value fins and meat.
The Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) governments voted against proposals to list three hammerhead sharks (Scalloped, Great and Smooth), the Oceanic Whitetip and the Spiny Dogfish in Appendix II of the Convention, which would enforce better management of the fisheries for international commercial trade and allow their declining populations to recover.
The delegates have voted to include the Porbeagle Shark – overfished primarily for its meat and fins – in Appendix II. Glenn Sant, Global Marine Programme Co-ordinator for TRAFFIC, told that again CITES has failed to listen to the scientists. The decision not to list all of these sharks today is a conservation catastrophe for these species, opined Glenn Sant.
He further said that the stocks of populations of these sharks have declined by more than 90 percent in some areas, many of them caught illegally and destined to end up in the shark-fin trade. He added that these sharks are targeted because of their high value and the current level of trade in these species is simply not sustainable.
The failure of other marine proposals at CITES last week comes after the rejection of three of the four sharks proposals and this fails to introduce stronger trade restrictions for Red and Pink corals, and an outright an on the international commercial trade of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna – both despite overwhelming scientific evidence that additional protection for these species is needed.
Carlos Drews, Director, Species Programme, WWF International, informed that these marine species are in dire need of stronger trade protections and sound management. We will continue to fight for this.
