Unhand That Porbeagle, Buddy!

BULLETIN

The sixteenth meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora in Bangkok, Thailand from 3 to 14 March 2013, is currently underway with significant new regulation proposed for 5 species of sharks – ocean white tips, 3 kinds of hammerheads and porbeagle sharks – manta rays and other critically endangered ocean animals.

How this new CITES regulation, to which the United States subscribes, will impact the annual shark tournament in Oak Bluffs harbor in July, promoted by Steve James and Sharks Unlimited, remains to be seen.

It certainly should be relevant to those voting on the upcoming measure before the town of Oak Bluffs, requiring that the shark tournament change to catch and release. That vote, less than one month away, could influence how Oak Bluffs selectmen view the shark killing, not only of the now-regulated critically endangered species of shark, but how they view the entire tournament as well.

For more information on the action taken by CITES, please check these current news links:

The BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21741648

Scientific American.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=5-shark-species-may-gain-protection-boost-from-new-findings

And for more information on CITES, the international regulatory organization:

CITES

http://www.cites.org/

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