Marine Wildlife Victory: Why New Protections for Manta Rays and Sharks Change Everything

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New protections for manta rays
and sharks that score a major

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victory in shark protections.

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In this episode of the How to Protect
the Ocean Podcast, we're diving into

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an incredible story on how these
ocean giants just got a powerful new

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shield of protection and what it
means for the future of our seas.

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So join us as we reveal the challenges
these animals faced, the winds we

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achieved, and why this breakthrough can
change the game for ocean conservation.

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Stay tuned.

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You're not gonna wanna miss this one.

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Let's start the show.

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Hey everybody.

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Welcome back to another exciting episode
of the How to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

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I'm your host, Andrew Lewin, marine
biologist and science communicator

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here to tell you about what's happening
with the ocean, how you can speak up

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for the ocean, what you can do to live
for a better ocean by taking action.

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And on today's episode, we're gonna
be talking about new protections

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underneath this international trade
law called CITES and it's protecting

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manta rays, devil rays, shark species
like oceanic white tips, smooth

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hammerheads, and even thresher sharks.

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There are also other oceanic
animals that are protected.

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Some reef fish and some sea cucumbers
that people don't always talk about.

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But we're gonna be focusing in on the
sharky, the elasmobranchs types, because

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that's what people love to hear about.

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It's a huge win in terms of protection.

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It's gonna ban a lot of
international trade of these animals.

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We're gonna talk about
why this is so important.

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We're gonna talk about what other
successes have been had at this level.

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It's gonna be really good and you're gonna
love it, and we talk about successes.

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Successes come when we talk
about different species and the

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different types of protection.

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And today we're gonna
be talking about sharks.

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We're gonna focus on that.

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But there are a lot of other
things that don't get the right

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attention, like seagrasses.

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And if you've heard this podcast
any time in the last month, you know

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that I have a podcast that I want to
launch called The Seagrass Effect.

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It's talking about the protection of
seagrass meadows, the conservation,

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the research, the restoration and just
talking about seagrass meadows and their

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importance, their biodiversity importance,
how there's such a productive habitat to

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be able to protect small fish, juvenile
fish, and invertebrates to be able to say,

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Hey, you know what, we're gonna protect
these so that they can move to other

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habitats, such as mangroves, such as coral
reefs and other habitats in the ocean

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that are super, super important.

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So we're gonna be starting, we're
gonna be launching a podcast

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based on crowdfunding research.

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if you go to speak up for
blue.com/seagrass, you can help

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crowdfund this podcast today.

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The launch is gonna happen
once we reach our goal.

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It's gonna happen for the whole year.

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We're gonna do one episode a week for
the entire year, once this crowdfunding

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campaign gets funded to its goal.

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Go to speak up for blue.com/seagrass
to help us hear more about seagrass

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and talk more about seagrass so
that we can not only share it amongst

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ourselves and you, the audience, and
the Speak Up for Blue community as

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part of this podcast network, but also
for people in the research business.

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Some people in the conservation
business, people in the restoration

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business who don't know about all the
different studies and all the different

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people and haven't heard from them in
a while, and they wanna maybe connect.

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They can connect through this podcast
by listening to it, by listening

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to their colleagues and what kind of
research and work that they're doing.

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And it can all happen
on the Seagrass Effect.

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Go to speak up for blue.com/seagrass
to help fund and launch this podcast.

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It's gonna be very, very important.

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So, that's something to look
forward to in the future.

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Okay, so let's start off with a
backstory about these species.

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So you have manta rays, devil rays, you
have a number of different shark species.

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All these species were hunted.

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They were hunted for parts
of them that would be traded

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across national boundaries.

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So across country lines so people
can buy them and use them for

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whatever they want to use them for.

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Some mentioned, you know, the demand for
shark fins, manta ray gill plates that

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were used for cultural and medicinal
purposes, and how this international

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trade put them in a decline.

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So the fact is, the demand for these
animals, the parts of these animals,

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shark fin soup, these gill plates,
these manta ray gill plates were causing

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these animals to be in higher demand
than they should have been that make them

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unsustainable in terms of a population.

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Meaning there were more of them being
hunted than were being kept so that the

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population could persist and do more.

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Now with devil rays and manta rays,
we don't really know a ton about them.

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We know a lot there are.

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There's the Manta Trust, and we know more
than we've had in the last few decades.

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However, we still don't
know a lot about them.

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We still don't know
their full distribution.

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We don't know what makes 'em tick.

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We don't know how their migration patterns
help them survive and how it makes them

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vulnerable to other trade and legal
implications in terms of being hunted.

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And so there are a lot of
things that we still don't know.

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We need to protect them from that.

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In the meantime, we need to
protect them from being hunted.

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And so the demand for their
gill plates has to stop.

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And so we had to make sure that
the protections are put in place.

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Same with thresher sharks, same
with the smooth hammerhead shark,

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same with oceanic white tip.

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Their populations were dwindling
because they were being hunted mostly

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for fish, like through fishing, and
not just for fins, but through fishing.

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So they were not being regulated well.

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A lot of reports were coming
out that they were in decline.

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And so they needed to be
that extra protection.

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Now, for the first thing here is they
were already protected under CITES.

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Now CITES is known as Convention on
International Trade in Endangered

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Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

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So it's the Convention of
International Trade and Endangered

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Species is what CITES stands for.

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If they're put on this actual list,
in the CITES list, these animals, then

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there's II different appendices, right?

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If you were on Appendix, I believe it
was first they were put on Appendix II.

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So they were added in Appendix II.

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They have some restrictions
that are applied to it.

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Species that are not necessarily currently
threatened with extinction, but

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trade of them is regulated so that it
is legal, sustainable, and traceable.

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So any kind of illegal trade going
in and out of countries was banned.

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They were monitored a
little bit more frequently.

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There was research protections
that were put on so they

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could get extra research done.

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There's money to study
them a little bit more.

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International trade requires export
permits with non detrimental findings.

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So evidence of trade will not harm
the survival of these animals,

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like the whole population.

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So everything was monitored.

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There was more research
priorities too, and there was

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more money for research for them.

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So that was really helpful.

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However, there was no
excessive ban on these species.

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Whale sharks were put in
2003, basking sharks as well

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as in 2003 on the Appendix II.

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In 2016, thresher sharks, silky sharks
were added to Appendix II as well.

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Now, Appendix II doesn't ban
outright trade, but it does

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allow for specific restrictions as
long as they're not being harmed.

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They're allowed to be traded
as long as there's proof that

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they're not being harmed, the
population is not being harmed.

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Appendix I has the highest protection.

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International commercial trade and
species or parts or derivatives of

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those species is generally prohibited
unless there's some kind of exception

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with very limited exemption.

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So there are times when you can trade
'em, but it's very, very limited.

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So the protection is a lot more in
terms of this international trade.

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So some of the sharks were upgraded
to Appendix I, and that was at a

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most recent conference at COP20,
the Convention of Parties on CITES.

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20 is the 20th meeting in 2025.

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So certain species including oceanic white
tip, sharks, thresher sharks as well.

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Smooth hammerhead sharks have been
moved to Appendix I banning international

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trade, commercial trade of that species.

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Manta rays and devil rays
were the same as well.

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So for certain rays that would
then end the larger sharks.

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So whale sharks, they
were also the same set.

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Proposed certain rays, meaning trade bans
or near complete bans for international

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commerce of their body parts or specimens.

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So that's pretty cool.

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There's been extra
protections, which is great.

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It does mean that these animals were
still threatened and their populations

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were still threatened because of those
traits, because they were getting hunted.

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So now that some of these species
have Appendix I status, it means that

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they can't get traded in whoever's
part of this Convention of Parties

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through these countries legally.

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It can't happen.

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It won't happen unless there's
specific exemptions for that.

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the first question I had when we started
looking at the levels of protection, I

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started looking at what other animals,
especially ocean animals, were added

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to this Appendix I for CITES that
showed a benefit to the species.

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'Cause like sometimes when we have these
international agreements, they're not

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enforced very well and some countries
will enforce it more than others.

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And usually it's in the countries
where the species is really sold or

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really traded with a lot of culturally
significant priorities on it.

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And so they're not enforced in
necessarily those countries.

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Now when they are enforced though,
it does actually add success.

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So for the Mediterranean monk seal
that was added to the Appendix

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I, they were pretty widespread at
one point, but over time they got

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pushed to the brink of extinction.

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Part of the reason was they were
hunted historically for their

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skins and oil and their habitats
were also disturbed by humans.

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So when they got listed under
stricter international protections,

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it helped reduce the lingering
pressure from trade and gave local

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conservation groups more support to
protect their remaining habitats.

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As a result, their numbers have
actually started to show some slow

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recovery, especially in protected areas.

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And then for the Hawaiian Monk
Seal, the story is a bit similar.

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They faced a lot of threats from
things like entanglement and

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fishing gear and loss of habitat.

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So not necessarily hunted, but
it's still similar where they were

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losing their lives because of this.

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And while they were not necessarily traded
in the same way as the Mediterranean monk

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seal, the stronger protections under CITES
meant more resources for conservation

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and stricter rules for their habitat.

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This meant that they're still endangered,
but they're getting a lot more focus

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and a lot more protection for now.

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I could share a story.

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When I was in Hawaii, a lot of
the times when a monk seal would

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come up on the beach, somebody
would be dispatched from NOAA.

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Usually a volunteer.

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There's a lot of volunteers in Hawaii,
especially on the island of Oahu.

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They knew, like they would come in.

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They would cordon off
the area with pylons.

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They would have some volunteers sit there
and provide education for the animals.

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They actually know each and every animal
it seems, and so they can tell like

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who's who, what their characteristics
are, like, what their personalities,

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like, how long they tend to stay
there, where do they end up going.

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And they really know a lot about
the species, especially the

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individuals of that population.

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'cause there's not very many around,
especially the island of Oahu.

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I think it was under a
hundred, but don't quote me.

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So of course if it's under a
hundred, they know these animals.

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They can recognize 'em through like
scrapes and scars and so forth.

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And they can understand who
they are, which is kind of cool.

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Now, the last animal that I looked up
was the olive ridley sea turtle that's

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on CITES Appendix I. Now they're often
impacted by international trade for their

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turtle shells as well as their eggs.

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So once CITES protection was put in place
and other conservation measures came

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in, it helped curb the trade and allowed
more local conservation efforts to take

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place like protecting nesting beaches.

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So over time, these combined efforts
have really helped stabilize some of

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their populations, which is great.

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And in the case of Green Sea Turtles,
not that they're on the CITES, but

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they're also like the conservation efforts
have actually helped get them made from

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like going extinct or endangered to
least vulnerable, which is really nice.

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So the fact that we have three examples,
three great examples of species that have

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gone to almost the brink of extinction
in some cases at some point, and CITES

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has come in and helped that population.

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Notice that it's not just CITES
that helps this population,

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it's other conservation efforts.

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And it's the fact that because they're
listed on these international agreements,

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it helps alleviate and get money for
that species to do research on the

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species monitoring and conservation
measures and protection and education

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for a lot of these species, like
the Hawaiian Monk Seal and others.

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So that's a really great thing.

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And also it disperses money for
conservation organizations to help

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protect nesting beaches for the Olive,
Ridley sea turtle, as well as protect

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beaches when these animals come up
on the beach and they wanna rest or

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haul out and just kind of relax and
people can see them from a distance.

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They're not being idiots, like
throwing sand on them and stuff,

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which I've seen before because there's
somebody there to tell people to stop.

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And I think that's a really
important aspect of this

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conservation is the education and
the interaction with the community.

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Not only providing education,
but protecting them from some

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community members who just don't
have the right mindset when it

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comes to protecting animals.

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And so this is a really great set of
stories that shows that having Appendix

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I can show some success stories.

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It all depends on how the money's
dispersed, who is dispersed to, and

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how each country enforces CITES to make
sure that these animals are protected.

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There is illegal rings that go on.

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However, those are harder to go by
because it takes a lot of money,

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it takes a lot of sneaking around.

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You gotta do a lot to do that.

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And I'm sure it happens but for
the most part, when it's not legal,

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then people tend to follow the law
and just not trade these anymore.

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And hopefully we'll see the same thing
happen when we look down the road at these

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other species that we'll start to see

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this species recovery.

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As monitoring is able to happen more
and more from all around the world

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because more money is alleviated to
study these animals and monitor and

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protect and educate people on these
animals, that's gonna be a big thing.

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So the fact is that the new CITES
protection in Appendix I makes it really

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easy to protect these species or
easier to protect these species.

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Having the different levels of protection,
bringing them in as Appendix II, people

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probably thought, Hey, it was a great
celebration when people brought in

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the min, especially in 2016 when we
got a lot of sharks, like the silky

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sharks and, I forget what the other,
I think it was a hammerhead shark

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as well, like protected under CITES.

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It was a huge, huge thing.

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Other sharks got added,
stingrays got added.

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Manta Rays and devil rays got added.

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That was a huge feat, but they weren't
protected at the highest level.

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And that takes a lot of
work to put it there.

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But it lays the groundwork under
the Appendix II to get information,

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more information on that species
to show really where they're at.

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A lot of the times these species
aren't studied very well 'cause

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there's not a lot of money to give 'em.

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They're widespread around the world.

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It costs a lot of money to go out in
the field to monitor these species.

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They'll monitor any real
species in the ocean.

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So having the money available to do that
allowed them to put it up to Appendix I.

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Now, this is not a good thing for the
species in terms of where they're at

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right now, but it's a good thing to
where they could be in the future if

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this CITES law is enforced and this
agreement is enforced 'cause that's

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something that will have to happen.

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So the fact remains is that
sharks need protection, and

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today we got those protection.

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So this is a huge conservation win
for smooth hammerheads, thresher

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sharks, ocean white tip sharks, as
well as devil rays and manta rays.

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This is a massive, massive win.

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Even the sea cucumbers and
some of the reef fish that

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were also added to Appendix II.

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This is gonna help them with
their protection and make

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sure that they're not hunted

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incessantly and make sure that
they're not traded over borders.

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00:14:08,492 --> 00:14:12,992
We may not be able to find out who's doing
the hunting or when they do the hunting,

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00:14:12,992 --> 00:14:16,712
but we'll make sure that we are not
allowing the trade of these animals to go

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across these borders that follow CITES.

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Is it perfect?

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Absolutely not.

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00:14:21,037 --> 00:14:22,687
Is it better than what we've had before?

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Yes, absolutely.

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And it's a huge win that
we should be celebrating.

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00:14:26,547 --> 00:14:29,757
But we should also celebrate the
fact that you are now more aware of

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00:14:29,757 --> 00:14:33,567
this positive commitment to protect
sharks and manta rays and devil rays.

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And the fact is that you should still
continue to learn about these species,

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continue to learn about where the
problems arise, what countries the

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00:14:40,287 --> 00:14:44,450
problems arise in, and why they should
be enforced and start to pressure your

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political representative to make sure
that these are enforced in your country.

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00:14:49,340 --> 00:14:52,340
Whether you're from Canada,
US, anywhere around the world.

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00:14:52,490 --> 00:14:56,540
It's an important aspect to protect
these types of protections, to

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00:14:56,540 --> 00:14:58,760
make sure that they're enforced,
make sure that they're done.

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00:14:58,850 --> 00:15:02,510
And I'm so happy that we were able
to talk about this on this episode

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today because the world has been
going to crap, let's be honest.

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00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,140
And it's nice to be able to
celebrate some wins, especially

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00:15:09,140 --> 00:15:10,820
when it comes to sharks and rays.

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This is something that has been
on the docket for a long time.

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I'm so happy that we're able to
see this protection, and it comes

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from a lot of people who are
advocating for this protection.

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In 2016 to get them on Appendix II,

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00:15:22,994 --> 00:15:27,395
it took a long of people to
get together, start a movement.

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00:15:27,425 --> 00:15:28,985
Shark Stanley was a huge movement.

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00:15:28,985 --> 00:15:30,065
I've talked about on this podcast.

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00:15:30,065 --> 00:15:32,435
It was a little cutout of a
hammerhead shark that was started

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00:15:32,435 --> 00:15:36,335
by one or two people, and it spread
across the world to everybody.

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00:15:36,335 --> 00:15:38,735
They all took pictures with
Shark Stanley, like this cutout.

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00:15:38,735 --> 00:15:40,175
They would get a cutout,
they would cut it out.

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00:15:40,175 --> 00:15:45,340
Classes, kids, adults of all ages, of
all professional and cultural backgrounds

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00:15:45,340 --> 00:15:48,790
around the world took pictures and those
pictures were printed out and given to

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00:15:48,790 --> 00:15:52,660
the people who were in charge of putting
these sharks on CITES showing that there

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00:15:52,660 --> 00:15:55,240
are a lot of people around the world
that want to protect these sharks no

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00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:57,040
matter where they're from, what they do,

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00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:58,480
protection of sharks was really important.

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00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,870
We got them on Appendix II and now
we have 'em on Appendix I to provide

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00:16:01,870 --> 00:16:04,210
not only that, we, they'll have
more information on to provide more

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00:16:04,210 --> 00:16:07,210
protection and hopefully we'll start
to see an increase in their population.

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00:16:07,210 --> 00:16:08,470
Nice and slow and steady.

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Quicker the better.

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00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,070
But slow and steady always wins the race.

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00:16:11,070 --> 00:16:13,520
And I'd love to see a
recuperation of these.

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00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,100
So I wanna thank you guys for
joining me on today's episode.

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00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:19,430
If you have any questions or comments,
please leave them in the comments below

335
00:16:19,430 --> 00:16:20,720
if you're watching this on YouTube.

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00:16:20,797 --> 00:16:23,797
If you are listening to this on
your favorite podcast app, God,

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00:16:23,797 --> 00:16:25,867
I'd love you for sticking with
me 'cause that's how I started.

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00:16:25,950 --> 00:16:30,360
I'm continuing going to be putting out
these audio podcasts as well as on video.

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00:16:30,550 --> 00:16:33,340
Same podcast, so you can listen
to it wherever you want or

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00:16:33,340 --> 00:16:34,480
watch it wherever you want.

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00:16:34,564 --> 00:16:35,944
Let me know what you think.

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00:16:35,944 --> 00:16:37,084
Just go to Instagram.

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00:16:37,167 --> 00:16:39,320
DM me at How to Protect the Ocean.

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00:16:39,397 --> 00:16:40,777
Also on my profile.

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00:16:40,777 --> 00:16:43,387
There's a link to follow
and you can follow me.

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00:16:43,387 --> 00:16:46,014
You can also rate and review the podcast.

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00:16:46,014 --> 00:16:49,194
I would love ratings and reviews
because that really helps people.

348
00:16:49,194 --> 00:16:52,284
It kind of gives us social proof
of why you'd like this podcast so

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00:16:52,284 --> 00:16:55,194
much, why you listen to it each
and every day or whenever you can.

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00:16:55,344 --> 00:16:56,784
So I really appreciate that.

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00:16:56,934 --> 00:17:00,234
And of course, thank you so much for
joining us on today's episode of the

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00:17:00,234 --> 00:17:01,554
How to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

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00:17:01,704 --> 00:17:04,224
I'm your host Andrew Lewin from
the True Nord strong and free.

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00:17:04,374 --> 00:17:05,004
Have a great day.

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00:17:05,004 --> 00:17:07,194
We'll talk to you next time
and happy conservation.