There is international agreement the protection 18 threatened species sharks and rays. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) agreed Sunday to give greater protection the marine creatures actions such as commercial fishing and hunting. Many the threatened species are hunted for their meat and fins. Some of the species being protected are the world's fastest shark (the mako shark), wedgefishes and guitarfishes. Luke Warwick the Wildlife Conservation Society said: "Sharks are vulnerable wildlife....Momentum is clearly building to ensure that these species, which have been around 400 million years, continue to be around future generations."
CITES is an international treaty established 1973 to protect endangered animals and plants. It has been signed 182 different states, plus the European Union. There was not widespread agreement the weekend's meeting. The focus the meeting was on protecting sharks. The number sharks killed each year commercial fishing is estimated 100 million. One conservation group said this figure could be as high as 273 million. Forty countries disagreed that the mako shark was danger. They argued that there was not enough evidence to show that the mako was disappearing as a result fishing. The global shark fin market is estimated to be $1.2 billion.
