Sharks, Manta Rays Win New Protection

At this year's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Conference of Parties meeting in Bangkok, countries agreed to increase protection for five commercially exploited species of sharks and manta rays. CITES member nations voted to list oceanic whitetip shark, three species of hammerhead sharks, the porbeagle shark, and manta rays under Appendix II, which increases protection while allowing legal and sustainable trade.