Starting on 14 September 2014 five particularly endangered shark species and manta rays will be protected under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, allowing trade in products from these species only if they originate from sustainably managed populations.
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks: "This is a milestone in species conservation. For the first time marine resources of a high commercial value will be protected under CITES regulations." For years, the Federal Environment Ministry and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation have dedicated themselves to improving the protection of sharks and rays.
A quarter of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction; only one third is not at risk. Overfishing and the international trade in the fins and meat of sharks and the gill plates of rays are the main reasons behind this alarming development.
The oceanic whitetip, the porbeagle, and three species of hammerhead sharks will now receive protection. The listings were adopted at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES in March 2013, but their entry into force was delayed by 18 months in order to give the Parties concerned enough time for technical and administrative preparations. Germany played a decisive role in developing the porbeagle proposal, as the European Union is the main importer of this species and bears significant responsibility on this issue. The BMUB (Bundesamt für Umwelt, Natur, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit) and the BfN (Bundesamt für kerntechnische Entsorgung) have undertaken considerable international efforts to enable effective implementation of the listings as of 14 September.