On 16 February this year a landmark agreement to protect shark species threatened with extinction was reached. The agreement was signed by over 100 countries who are signed up to a United Nations-supported wildlife treaty, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The 113 countries that are party to the UNEP-administered Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) agreed to prohibit the hunting, fishing and deliberate of killing sharks species covered in an appendix to the CMS – the great white, basking, whale, porbeagle, spiny dogfish, shortfin and longfin mako sharks.
See the UN News story here: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33778&Cr=unep&Cr1
Great white sharks are the only legally protected species of shark in New Zealand, despite around 28 species in NA being listed by the IUCN as threatened.
This new agreement signals a need or us to urgently ensure national tools are put in place to ensure the protection of these other species.
For more information about Forest & Bird's shark conservation concerns and to find out how you can help, visit: http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/campaigns/save-our-sharks