Four Shark Species Win International Trade Protection

Jakarta Globe, March 11, 2013

This file picture taken on March 1, 2009 shows a man looking at a shop selling
 shark fins in Hong Kong. Governments agreed on March 11 to restrict international
 trade in four shark species in a bid to save them from being wiped out due
 to rampant demand for their fins. (AFP Photo/Antony Dickson)  

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Bangkok. Governments agreed on Monday to restrict international trade in four shark species in a bid to save them from being wiped out due to rampant demand for their fins.

The 178-member Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted at a meeting in Bangkok to control exports of the oceanic whitetip and three types of hammerhead shark, but stopped short of a full trade ban.

The move would require countries to regulate trade by issuing export permits to ensure their sustainability in the wild, otherwise they could face sanctions from CITES.

Asian nations led by Japan and China — where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy — tried in vain to block the proposals, which were pushed by countries including Brazil, Colombia and the United States.

The decision to add the species to CITES Appendix 2, which restricts cross-border trade, must still be formally approved by the conference’s plenary session later this week.

Members would then have 18 months to introduce the trade controls.

The four species would join the great white shark, the whale shark and the basking shark, which already enjoy international trade controls.

The Bangkok meeting was also set to vote on a similar proposal for the porbeagle shark and the manta ray.

Humans kill about 100 million sharks each year, mostly for their fins, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and conservationists are warning that dozens of species are under threat.

Ninety percent of the world’s sharks have disappeared over the past 100 years, mostly because of overfishing in countries such as Indonesia, the FAO says.

Agence France-Presse

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"Do Animals Reincarnate?" - NOV 22, 2010 (Kuthumi channelled by Lynette Leckie-Clark)

“... Perhaps this is a timely reminder for mankind to respect all life forms. All play a part in the consciousness evolution of man and the planet. As you prepare to enter a year of Unity, of stepping forward in respect of one another, I ask you remember the many kingdoms who also share the planet- the elemental, plant, mineral and animal. I ask you develop a new awareness for these. It is not all about you - the human. No it is not. You must now begin to awaken your consciousness to sharing - with all. For all is part of God's great creation. 

Update from Ashtar via Mike Quinsey: Obama’s State of the Union Address – (Ashtar channeled by Susan Leland, February 12, 2013)

“… It is Freedom in every aspect of the lives of all humans on Planet Earth; it is Freedom for the animal and the plant kingdoms, and for the mineral kingdoms who are deemed to serve the humans. You know, it’s the humans who think all of the other kingdoms are here to serve. If you ask members of the other kingdoms what they have to say about that, they would take a different perspective and voice a different point of view which is true and appropriate, and as you like to say, it is high time because we are in High Times and we are continuing on this Path! ..."