U.N. votes to protect six threatened shark species

U.N. votes to protect six threatened shark species
1 hour ago

It's raining sharks — in a good way.

On Nov. 9, the United Nations' Convention on Migratory Species wrapped up a week-long meeting in Quito, Ecuador, by voting to list six shark species as threatened, obligating member nations to work together to protect the predators in danger from overfishing, finning and other perils. The U.N. treaty organization also agreed to list the reef manta, nine devil rays and five sawfishes.

"Today's unprecedented actions more than triple the number of shark and ray species slated for enhanced conservation initiatives," Sonja Fordham president of the nonprofit Shark Advocates International, said in a statement.

Ian Campbell of the World Wildlife Fund and a delegate from Fiji noted that manta and devil rays produce one offspring every few years, making them at risk of dramatic population declines from overfishing.

Sharks haven't been doing so well themselves.

A study released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature this year found that a quarter of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction. And a report published in 2013 estimated that between 63 million and 273 million sharks are killed annually. Many are inadvertently caught in giant nets cast by fishing trawlers. Others are slaughtered on purpose by shark finners who cut off their fins and throw the still-living animal back into the ocean to die. The fins are sold to restaurants in Asia to make soup.

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