The overwhelming verdict from the delegates, including environmentalists, governmental party attendees, and high-ranking CITES officials at the CITES CoP 17 conference, which has just concluded in Johannesburg, was that it was one of the most successful conferences ever.
“After attending 11 CoPs, I strongly believe this was among the most successful CoP ever for wildlife,” Susan Lieberman from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) told the African News Agency (ANA).
“Science and wildlife conservation prevailed. The decisions made by the gathering countries were based on the best available scientific information,” added Lieberman.
“Further, we were encouraged that governments fully embraced the precautionary principle by making decisions in the best interest of the species in the wild.”
Luke Warwick, project director of Global Shark Conservation, at the Pew Charitable Trusts, told ANA during an interview that there would be future challenges, as there had been in the past, but that significant positive steps had been taken by CITES.
“It’s by no means perfect. However, what we’ve seen over the last three years, since CITES first got involved with sharks, is incredible steps taken even by countries that are key catchers and traders,” said Warwick referring to the upgraded protection given to sharks and rays
On Tuesday, CITES party delegates overwhelmingly voted to extend trade protections to silky sharks, three species of thresher sharks, and nine species of mobula rays.
“All will be added to CITES Appendix II, which will allow for trade in these species, but only if the trade can be proven to be sustainable,” Warwick told ANA.
These additional listings double the percentage of sharks threatened by the fin trade that are now regulated under the world’s premier wildlife conservation convention.
The move provides a chance for these species to recover from population declines of more than 70 percent throughout their range caused primarily by global trade in shark fins and ray gill plates.
“These are some of the most depleted shark and ray species on the planet. They are all large bodied like thresher and silky sharks,” the shark specialist explained.
“They grow slowly and have incredibly conservative life history strategies not like other fish – and international trade has been pushing them towards extinction so CITES stepped in,” said Warwick.
“Three years ago CITES started managing sharks and rays, commercially traded ones for the first time. In those three years governments have got together and done some remarkable implementation work.
“Now we’re seeing the fruits of those efforts in that CITES is not only looking at additional sharks and ray species, they’re adopting them by larger margins than we’ve seen in the past.
“So I think it’s clear that shark and ray conservation, and trade in their products, have become a core part of the convention’s work which is very encouraging because the biggest problem that large sharks and rays face around the world is lack of management,” stated Warwick.
There’s never before been proper management by fishery bodies for these species.They’re either forgotten about because they are a by-catch or fisheries are managed without proper controls and CITES is all about control.
Protection of the species is vital as they play a vital ecological role and some countries have made this a priority.
Countries like the Malidives, which has been leading the charge on the upgraded protection of sharks, is a shark sanctuary because all sharks are protected in their waters.
“That’s because they earn $40 million per year from dive tourism and that’s just for sharks, it doesn’t include the dive total amount earned,” explained Warwick.
“So they have a really good reason why they’re championing shark protection. They’re telling other countries – these animals are our big five.”
Warwick then gave an example of how previously rogue countries, in regard to the unsustainable trade in wildlife, had turned over new sheets.
“When mantra rays were listed for protection in 2013 at CoP 16, Indonesia banned all capture of them and previously they were the world’s biggest catchers.
“They’ve even gone as far to issue jail terms and hefty fines for people who contravene the protection laws,” said Warwick.
Hong Kong is the hub of the world’s shark fin trade. Sixty percent of all fins that are traded go through Hong Kong.
However, they’ve taken huge steps since 2013. Under CITES, they’ve confiscated over two tonnes of shark fins traded illegally.
“This is something to think about. Before 2013 shark finning was not illegal. Now with these new listings 20 percent of the shark fin trade and all of the ray gill trade are now regulated,” Warwick told ANA.
“Those are incredible steps forward. There will be more challenges over the next few years but I think the main thing is that governments have already shown that this can work and CITES will be there for the species.”
South Africa Today – South Africa News
