Two species of warm water flatsharks, giant guitarfish and wedgefish, are considered the world’s most threatened marine fish according to a new assessment by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The new IUCN Red List assessments classified all but one of the 16 warm-water flat shark species as ‘Critically Endangered’ with declines of more than 80 percent over the past 30 to 45 years, due primarily to overfishing.
“These disturbing population declines of important shark species can no longer be ignored – 17 of 18 species being considered for listing are now assessed as Endangered or Critically Endangered globally,” said Luke Warwick, Associate Director of Shark and Ray Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). “If we don’t act now, we will lose these animals and the unique role they have played in marine food webs since the time of the dinosaurs.”
The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora will discuss adding 10 species of wedgefish and six species of giant guitarfish — along with shortfin and long in makos — to the Appendix II which will grant greater international protections when the Conference of the Parties meets on August 17 in Geneva.
All these species are heavily traded for their high value fins, and in the case of mako sharks, their meat as well. They are fished and traded globally, and have very low reproductive rates that leave their populations especially vulnerable to overfishing.
“The CITES conference is a crucial point in global efforts to save these sharks and rays,” said Warwick. “This might be our last chance to establish measures that drive protections and proper management for these species, before they are lost forever.”