Protected at last
ArticleGood news for the hammerhead, porbeagle and oceanic whitetip sharks and the manta rays.
The proposal were submitted by countries who wanted to restrict the trade of these endagered species. All of the proposals were voted by 2/3 majority, so the manta rays (Manta birostris and M. alfredi), the porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus), the scalloped hammerhead shark, great hammerhead shark and smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini, S. mokarran and S. zygaena) and the oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) will include in the CITES Appendix II.
The trade of these species won't be banned but regulated. Many environmentalists urged the protection of the sharks and manta rays, but the proposals weren't supported by the majority of the countries. The main opposing countries like Japan or China voted against the protection again but this year many African countries voted in favor of sharks. Many experts claim the living sharks bring much more money to these countries than the catched ones and it seems they agreed it last. There are specific dive spots all around the globe which attract thousands of divers by the chance of shark or manta ray encounters.
Most of the sharks and manta rays are exported to China, where the shark fin soup is still a popular delicacy and the gills of manta rays are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
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