This shark family, which includes bull sharks, reef sharks, sandbar sharks, lemon sharks and blue sharks, is one of the largest with 56 species. Through their inclusion on Appendix II, these animals may no longer be traded in future without proof from the exporting country that the species is not endangered by the trade. This proof is almost impossible to establish, meaning that listing on Appendix II is close to an export ban. Furthermore, there is hope that at the current meeting, the family Sphyrnidae (hammerhead sharks) will also be protected. In addition, there is another decision, the "look-alike rule": any specimen that simply resembles a protected species may no longer be traded. This is akin to a reversal of the burden of proof, which rendering the work of customs and species conservation authorities immensely easier: if shark fins found resemble a listed species, it must be proven that they belong to a non-threatened species, otherwise the trade is automatically deemed illegal.
If these regulations are implemented, many hundreds of thousands of sharks can be protected. This is therefore good news today, even though much remains to be done.
In the image from top to bottom: Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezii); bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) and lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris)
