The oceanic whitetip, several varieties of hammerheads, and the porbeagle (a type of mackerel) can soon swim a little safer.
In this week’s CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) meeting in Bangkok, the vote to protect these sharks passed with a two thirds majority. CITES purpose is to “ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival” (www.cites.org). The ruling regulates how many species that nations can capture.
It is still possible for this ruling to get overturned this week and the conclusion of the conference, but it is expected to pass. After the ruling, there was loud applause in the hall followed by plenty of smiles and high fives, maybe a fist bump or two 🙂
And that’s what’s good,
Jon