Mobula rays, Silky sharks and Thresher sharks, listed under CITES Appendix II

It’s official, delegates at the CITES convention have voted overwhelmingly to list Mobula rays, Silky shark and Thresher sharks as an Appendix II species. This decision comes from the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) in Johannesburg South Africa.

“This is a massive, game-changing moment for the conservation of these mini-mantas,” writes the Manta Trust. Species which are listed on Appendix II means countries must prove that the trade in these animals is sustainable and not detrimental to the survival of the species.
Mobula rays are caught and sold for their gill plates which are used in traditional Asian medicines. Proving that the harvest of Mobula rays is sustainable will be extremely hard given how long they take to reach sexual maturity and due to how few offspring they birth during their lives.

That magical moment, captured in a photo, when greed & senselessness was defeated by common sense, and a small team of passionate people from various groups around the world. Photo: Danny Copeland

The decision was announced Monday pending a plenary session the following day. On Tuesday the plenary sessions (a formality for all conference members to attend and vote) was a success and all three elasmobranchs are now officially listed under CITES Appendix II.
Mobula researcher and founder of Manta Catalog Azores, Ana Filipa Sobral was attending the conference and told Reef Divers “A lot of countries showed their support for the listing of the sharks and rays even before the voting.” “The mood was really positive and everyone was extremely happy after the decision.”

Many groups, individuals, and nations have played a major role in getting mobulas onto CITES. Of these organizations, Manta Trust played an important role in coordinating global efforts to conserve the world’s manta rays and their habitats.
The Manta Trust charity was created in 2011, and is made up of a team of researchers, filmmakers, journalists and conservationist with 16 projects spread across the world. As a result of their hard work, the trade in Mobula rays will be greatly diminished conserving the species for future generations to enjoy.
Congratulation to the Manta Trust team and THANK YOU for all your hard work to protect these majestic animals!
A message from Manta Trust,

“There are too many to list here, but we want to shout out a particularly big thank you to our funders Save Our Seas Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Vulcan Inc. and the Conservation Media Group. Without your support and resources, this project and campaign would’ve have fallen flat on its face long before it left the gate. We are lucky to be able to work with such incredible people that share our passions and goals to help conserve our oceans.”
The Manta Team

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CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. It’s aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.