新奇事件簿 为鲨鱼物种提供更多保护（在线收听）

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."

国际上已达成协议要对18种濒临灭绝的鲨鱼和鳐鱼种类进行保护。濒临绝种野生动植物国际贸易公约（CITES）于周天达成协议为海洋生物提供更好的保护，使它们免受商业捕鱼和狩猎等活动的伤害。很多濒危物种因它们的肉和鱼鳍而被猎杀。受保护的物种包括世界上最快的鲨鱼（灰鲭鲨）、圆犁头鳐科以及犁头鳐鱼。野生生物保护协会的卢克·沃里克表示：“鲨鱼是很脆弱的野生动物...现在明显形成了一股势头，以确保这些已经存在了4亿年的物种在未来世代中相存。”

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公约。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，每年因商业捕鱼而被杀死的鲨鱼有1亿只。一家保护组织称，这个数字可能高达2.73亿。有40个国家不认为灰鲭鲨面临危险。他们认为没有足够的证据证明灰鲭鲨正在因捕鱼而消失。全球鱼翅市场估计超过12亿美元。