Overview
- Countries voted to ban commercial international trade in whale sharks, all manta and devil rays, and oceanic whitetip sharks under Appendix I listings.
- Delegates set zero annual export quotas for wedgefish and giant guitarfish, effectively halting their legal international trade to aid recovery.
- Trade in gulper, smoothhound and tope sharks will require permits and evidence that sourcing is legal, sustainable and traceable.
- The package covers roughly 70 species agreed at the CITES Cop20 meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with participation from 185 parties.
- Conservation groups welcomed the move as overdue given that more than 37% of shark and ray species face extinction risk, while urging swift national implementation and enforcement.