There is international agreement on the protection of 18 threatened species of sharks and rays. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) agreed on Sunday to give greater protection for the marine creatures from actions such as commercial fishing and hunting. Many of the threatened species are hunted for their meat and fins. Some of the species being protected are the world's fastest shark (the mako shark), wedgefishes and guitarfishes. Luke Warwick of the Wildlife Conservation Society said: "Sharks are vulnerable wildlife....Momentum is clearly building to ensure that these species, which have been around for 400 million years, continue to be around for future generations."

关于保护18种受到威胁的鲨鱼和鳐鱼，已有国际协议。《濒危物种国际贸易公约》(CITES)周日达成协议，将加大对海洋生物的保护力度，使其免受商业捕鱼和狩猎等行为的伤害。许多濒危物种因为它们的肉和鳍而被猎杀。一些受保护的物种是世界上最快的鲨鱼(灰鲭鲨)，楔鱼和吉他鱼。野生动物保护协会的卢克·沃里克说:“鲨鱼是脆弱的野生动物……很明显，为了确保这些已经存在了4亿年左右的物种能够延续到后代，我们正在建立一种势头。”

CITES is an international treaty established in 1973 to protect endangered animals and plants. It has been signed by 182 different states, plus the European Union. There was not widespread agreement at the weekend's meeting. The focus of the meeting was on protecting sharks. The number of sharks killed each year by commercial fishing is estimated at 100 million. One conservation group said this figure could be as high as 273 million. Forty countries disagreed that the mako shark was in danger. They argued that there was not enough evidence to show that the mako was disappearing as a result of fishing. The global shark fin market is estimated to be over $1.2 billion.

CITES是1973年建立的一项保护濒危动植物的国际条约。包括欧盟在内的182个国家签署了该协议。周末的会议没有达成广泛共识。会议的重点是保护鲨鱼。据估计，每年因商业捕鱼而死亡的鲨鱼有1亿。一个保护组织表示，这个数字可能高达2.73亿。40个国家不同意灰鲭鲨处于危险之中。他们认为，没有足够的证据表明灰鲭鲨是由于捕鱼而消失的。全球鱼翅市场估计超过12亿美元。