CMS: Shark and Ray Proposals

moustafa

Sawfish: Kenya presented the proposal to include 5 species of sawfish, Anoxypristis cuspidate, Pristis clavata, P. pectinata, P. zijsron and P. pristis, in Appendices I and II. Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, the European Union, Fiji, IUCN, Senegal, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, IUCN and Shark Advocates International on behalf of the coalition of NGOs supported the proposal. Proposal forwarded to plenary for adoption.

Reef Manta Ray: FIJI presented a proposal to include the Reef Manta Ray, Manta alfredi, in Appendices I and II, highlighting its vulnerability to human exploitation driven by international trade in gill plates, skin and cartilage. Chile, Ecuador, the European Union, the United States and the Marine Megafauna Association, on behalf of the coalition of NGOs, supported the proposal. South Africa supported the listing only in Appendix II. Noting South Africa’s reservation  Proposal forwarded to plenary for adoption.

Mobula species: Noting their life history and vulnerability to overfishing, Fiji introduced a proposal to list all species of mobula, Mobule spp., in Appendices I and II. New Zealand, IUCN and Manta Trust on behalf of the NGOs supported the proposal. Proposal forwarded to plenary for adoption.

Silky Shark: Egypt presented a proposal to include the Silky Shark, Carcharhinus falciformis, in Appendix II, noting the threats and their rates of decline in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Australia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the European Union, Fiji, the IUCN, Senegal and the United States supported the proposal. Chile and Peru opposed it, claiming overlap with existing management measures. Proposal forwarded to plenary for adoption.

Great and Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks: Ecuador and Costa Rica introduced proposals to list the great hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran, and the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, in Appendix II. The proposal was supported by Egypt, Monaco, the European Union, and many other parties, and the coalition of NGOs.  Proposals forwarded to plenary for adoption.

Thresher sharks: The European Union, citing worldwide declines, introduced proposals to list the bigeye thresher shark, Alopias superciliosus, the common thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus, and the pelagic thresher shark, Alopias pelagicus. Australia, Ecuador, Fiji, IUCN, Israel and New Zealand and PEW on behalf of the coalition of NGOs supported the proposal.  Proposals  forwarded to plenary for adoption.

Sharks and Rays: The Secretariat introduced Conservation of Migratory Sharks and Rays as an agenda item, emphasizing that such a resolution would complement the activities of the Sharks MoU and assist parties in meeting their obligations for species on Appendix I. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Senegal, the United Arab Emirates, and Humane Society International on behalf of a coalition of NGOs, supported the draft resolution. The European Union and the United States proposed discussion of amendments, and the draft resolution was forwarded to the Aquatic Working Group.

United Arab Emirates requested to be included in the list of countries banning the shark fin trade.

Dr. Moustafa Fouda (see photo at top left) is Egypt’s Scientific Authority on sharks and  his country’s delegate to UN treaty organizations.  He is an eloquent spokesman for sharks at CITES and CMS.  We also worked together at Sharm-el Sheikh, and published a journal article on our findings. The article may be downloaded as a pdf from SRI’s Scientific Publications page.