88 countries agree on shark fin regulation in historic vote

Posted by Tsoku Maela on 22 November 2022

Panama was host to the 19th Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in November 2022. For the first time in history, 88 countries voted to regulate the shark fin trade.

88 countries agree on shark fin regulation in historic vote

Critically Endangered scalloped hammerhead. Picture: Getaway gallery

As intimidating as these apex ocean predators may seem to us humans, we are proving to be a much greater threat to them from land. According to Shark Stewards, 100 million sharks are killed each year as a result of shark finning.

Shark finning is the predatory and illegal practice of capturing sharks and cutting their fins off. Discarding the rest of the animal afterwards, leading to its death. According to World Wildlife Fund, about 36 percent of the world’s shark and ray species are threatened with extinction due to the popularity of their fins and meat.

This milestone vote means the trading of 54 shark species of the requiem family (including tiger, bull, and blue sharks) will be regulated for the first time.

‘Now, finally, the deeply unsustainable shark fin trade will be fully regulated,’ Luke Warwick, director of shark and ray conservation for the Wildlife Conservation Society told The Guardian.

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