Sharks and rays gain landmark protections as nations move to curb international trade

But until last week, no international controls were in place to regulate trade in these species, despite growing demand for their livers.

This has now changed thanks to the latest decisions adopted at CITES, which Warwick says mark a turning point in marine conservation.

For much of its 50-year history, the convention has focused on protecting iconic land species like elephants, rhinos, primates and parrots, or charismatic marine species like sea turtles, Warwick said. By 1981, CITES had imposed an international ban on all international trade in sea turtles, which Warwick credits with some species making a remarkable comeback in recent decades. Only in the past decade, Warwick said, has the convention slowly begun to recognize sharks and rays with equal urgency.

This year at COP20, all proposed protections for sharks and rays were adopted, largely with unanimous support from all 185 CITES member countries and the European Union, something Warwick said had never happened before.

The European Union is a major supplier of shark meat to markets in Southeast and East Asia, with its imports and exports accounting for more than 20 percent of the global shark meat trade, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Gulper sharks, targeted for their livers, as well as dog sharks and tan sharks, which are mainly fished for their meat, have been listed on Appendix II of CITES. Each list covers several species – 20 species of gulper sharks and 30 species of smooth dogs – grouped together because their products cannot be reliably distinguished in trade.

Listing requires all parties to CITES to strictly regulate international trade in the species and demonstrate whether it is traceable and biologically sustainable. Some species, including wedgefish and giant guitarfish – large shark-like rays targeted for their highly valuable fins – are now protected by a temporary suspension of trade.

Others, such as oceanic whitetip sharks, whale sharks, manta rays and devil rays, can no longer be traded internationally. As part of the new protections, CITES now lists them on Appendix I, meaning they face a real risk of extinction due to trade and benefit from the treaty’s highest level of protection.