Until just last week, no international regulations governed trade in these species, despite rising demand for their livers.
The recent CITES decisions have altered that, which Warwick described as a watershed moment for marine conservation.
Warwick said that for much of its 50-year existence the convention concentrated on protecting well-known terrestrial animals such as elephants, rhinos, primates and parrots, and on charismatic marine animals like sea turtles. By 1981 CITES had introduced a worldwide ban on sea turtle trade, a move Warwick credited with helping some species make remarkable comebacks over recent decades. It is only in the past decade, Warwick added, that the convention has gradually started to treat sharks and rays with comparable urgency.
At COP20 this year, every proposed protection for sharks and rays was approved, largely with near-unanimous backing from CITES’ 185 member states and the European Union — a level of agreement Warwick said was unprecedented.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the European Union ranks among the largest suppliers of shark meat to Southeast and East Asian markets, with its combined imports and exports accounting for over 20 percent of the world’s shark meat trade, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Gulper sharks, sought for their livers, along with smoothhound and tope sharks—mainly caught for their meat—were added to CITES’ Appendix II. Each entry includes multiple species—20 gulper shark species and 30 smoothhound species—grouped because their products are not reliably distinguishable in trade.
The listings obligate all CITES parties to tightly control international trade in those species and to show it is traceable and biologically sustainable. Some animals, such as wedgefish and giant guitarfish—large, shark-like rays prized for their valuable fins—are now covered by a temporary trade suspension.
Other species — including oceanic whitetips, whale sharks, mantas and devil rays — may no longer be traded internationally. With the new measures CITES has moved them to Appendix I, indicating they face significant extinction risk from trade and receive the treaty’s strongest protection.
