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(DOHA)—Delegates attending the 15th
meeting of the Conference of the
Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) today rejected a Proposal submitted by Palau and the United
States to adopt landmark protection for three hammerhead shark species
globally threatened by the shark fin trade.
“Shark species worldwide are in a tailspin due to overharvesting for
the fin trade,” said Linda Paul, International Director of Earthtrust’s
Endangered Species Program, a member organization of the Species
Survival Network (SSN). “CITES is one of the few tools available to
bring the global trade in shark fins and parts under appropriate
control, and stop the rapid slide toward extinction we’re seeing today.
Refusing to give CITES protection to the scalloped hammerhead shark and
its look-alike cousins is a step backward that may prevent the recovery
of these threatened species.”
In a robust debate, and despite a large overall majority, proponents
failed to achieve the 2/3 vote needed to secure listing on Appendix II.
Spain on behalf of the EU, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Qatar spoke in
favour while Cuba, China, Singapore and Indonesia spoke against.
Seventy five countries voted in favour but 45 Parties voted against
with 14 abstentions.
The
Proposal made a convincing case that the scalloped hammerhead is likely
to become threatened with extinction unless the trade in its fins,
parts and derivatives is monitored and regulated. For example, the
northwest Atlantic population of the scalloped hammerhead has declined
by 89% over 15 years and fins of hammerheads have an average auction
price of $125 per kilo. About 1.3 to 2.7 million scalloped and smooth
hammerheads are taken annually for the shark fin trade.
Contrary to the misinformation being spread by fin traders, an
Appendix II listing will not ban the trade in shark fins and parts. “In
Mexico 90% of all shark products are used in the domestic markets; only
10% of the products, mainly fins and meat, are exported,” said Juan
Carlos Cantu, from Defenders of Wildlife, also a member of the Species
Survival Network. “An Appendix II listing will have no impact on the
90% of products consumed in Mexico, and of the 10% that is exported
only the portion that belongs to the species listed in Appendix II
would be regulated, but not banned.”
The practice of cutting off the fins of sharks to supply the
growing demand for shark fin soup took off in the early 1990s with the
increasing wealth in South China. “Up to 100 million sharks are killed
around the globe each year for their fins only,” said Rebecca Regnery,
Deputy Director Wildlife for the Human Society International. “After
the fins are removed the rest of the shark is thrown overboard. Many
cultures find this waste deplorable.”
Shark fins, one of the
most valuable “food” items in the world, is regarded as a prestigious
ingredient in shark fin soup consumed mainly in East and Southeast
Asia. Customers may pay up to $100 a bowl. However, few realize that
“shark fin soup” is just chicken broth with some tasteless
cartilaginous fin rays added to achieve a crunchy, jelly-like texture.
The illegal and unreported poaching of sharks for the fin trade is
believed to far surpass the legal trade. The fishing grounds of
virtually every coastal State have been plundered to feed the
international demand for shark fins. Although some poachers have been
caught and their vessels and catch confiscated, many more continue to
decimate coastal shark populations with impunity.
Listing
look-alike species is an important enforcement tool since the fins of
all three hammerhead species are virtually identical and customs
officials have a hard time determining which species are in trade when
large quantities of fins arrive all mixed together at inspection
stations. “Finning also prevents the collection of species-specific
data, making it very difficult for management authorities to estimate
population sizes, manage stocks and monitor the impact of trade on
individual species of sharks,” said Paul. “While shark stocks may be
managed by regional fisheries management organizations, the trade in
fins is not.”
“We hope that at the next meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to CITES, the plight of these species will be
brought forward once more and that they will achieve the listing they
deserve and need. I also hope that the Parties will, in future, pass a
resolution prohibiting the international trade in all shark fins unless
they are naturally attached to a shark,” concluded Paul. “This will
prevent many more shark species being proposed for listing on the CITES
appendices because their existence is threatened by the trade in fins.”
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