Global wildlife summit approves shark protections

PANAMA CITY — Delegates at a global summit on trade in endangered species on Friday approved a plan to protect 54 more shark species, a move that could drastically reduce the lucrative and cruel shark fin trade.

Members of the requiem shark and the hammerhead shark families will now have their trade tightly controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The binding resolutions were adopted by consensus on the final day of the two-week meeting by delegates from 183 countries and the European Union, which takes place every two or three years.

“Proposal 37 approved,” said Panamanian delegate and head of the plenar…

Keep on reading: Global wildlife summit approves shark protections