﻿ Time to save our iconic marine animals - Opinion - Al Jazeera
English  Time to save our iconic marine animals  The extinction
of sharks and rays, which are vulnerable to overfishing, could
have devastating ecological consequences.  Last Modified: 03 Mar
2013 10:55 Colman O'Criodain  Colman O'Criodain is Policy
Analyst, International Wildlife Trade, WWF International. Email
Article Print Article Share article Send Feedback Manta ray gill
plates are used in China for a soup believed to have special
medicinal properties [Reuters]  Forty years ago, following the
advice from the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) and others, the international community decided to
address the critical issue of trading endangered species
globally. In Washington, the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was born
with the objective of protecting wild plants and animals from
the risk of extinction.  To do this, plants and animals can be
proposed for listing on the