Protecting Our Sharks and Manta Rays

Image Credit: Wikimedia

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) just announced that they will be protecting 2 species of manta rays and 5 species of sharks on September 14th.

But don’t worry! These species are not in danger of becoming extinct. CITES just has their future wellbeing in mind.

The species that will be protected include the oceanic whitetip shark, porbeagle shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, smooth hammerhead shark, great hammerhead shark, reef manta ray and giant oceanic manta ray.

The shark species are being protected to prevent overfishing for their fins and meat.

Every year, millions of sharks are killed to meet trading demands. Because shark fins are profitable, global shark fisheries need tighter regulations to control this overfishing so that these species do not become extinct.

Similarly, manta ray species need to be protected to prevent fishermen from overfishing them for their gill rakers in Asia. Gill rakers, which help manta rays eat smaller prey, are considered a remedy for diseases in Asian folklore.

Fortunately, these protections have come at a time where the illegal marine life trade poses a great risk to these species’ populations.

Many of the shark and manta ray species listed are considered threatened or vulnerable by conservation organizations.

Making a stand against activities that hurt our oceans is a challenge that requires collaboration from conservation organizations and governments. Awesome international treaties like CITES are key to making collaboration possible and protecting our oceans from overfishing.

Source:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/sharks/these-sharks-and-rays-just-got-protected-photos-140828.htm