Legendary day for sharks and Mantas. Bangkok, March 14th 2013. CITES CoP accepts all the shark and Manta proposals !
Nonetheless our 470 voices contributed to achieving a very big goal !
Up till today many species of sharks and manta rays are still being slaughtered in their millions yearly, all of that for inconsiderate cultural or unproven medicinal purposes. These animals are long living, slow growing and reproduce slowly. Without strict regulations they will eventually be driven to extinction. Animal consumption may represent tradition/beliefs, but in this case it is unsustainable, and should be stopped before it is too late. Manta rays and sharks are the top diver/snorkeler attractions and therefore are extremely valuable to tourism, which can be a sustainable economical alternative to the destructive fishing.
From 3rd to 14th of March representatives from 177 countries are meeting in the CITES conference in Bangkok. In this event four proposals which are crucial for better hammerhead, oceanic whitetip, porbeagle shark and manta ray protection will be voted upon. We need to press-on the Conference of Parties participants to secure international regulations on shark and manta trade.
For those of us who care about the future of our Oceans lets reach as many signatures as we can and finally get the so needed shark and manta regulations in place. Sign and share, spread the word !
For the discussed proposals in detail see the links below:
http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/16/prop/E-CoP16-Prop-42.pdf
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http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/16/prop/E-CoP16-Prop-43.pdf
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http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/16/prop/E-CoP16-Prop-44.pdf
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http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/16/prop/E-CoP16-Prop-46.pdf