The impact of fisheries supplying international trade has increased concerns about the conservation of these species of sharks and rays for over two decades. Meanwhile, 14 species of pelagic sharks and 27 rays are listed in the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II. Many of them are still recorded in fisheries and trade, including species prohibited in the pelagic fisheries and regulated by tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (tRFMOs). The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation of Germany (BfN) has supported many of the CITES shark listings and has contributed to their implementation by capacity building measures and relevant workshops, such as the development of guidelines for making non-detriment findings (NDFs) for sharks. FAO Members and CITES Parties regularly urge closer engagement and coordination between bodies of environment and fisheries, in order to improve the status of sharks, while recognising shared common objectives for the recovery of depleted stocks, and achieving sustainable fisheries and trade.
are among the world’s most threatened cartilaginous fishes