The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, was originally drafted in 1973. Last year in Bangkok new protections were added for threatened shark and ray species. The treaty now requires special permits for the export of five shark species and all manta ray species. That restriction applies to both live specimens and meat or other products from those species.

CITES regulates trade in plant and animal species which could become endangered without sustainable policies. The treaty divides animals into two “appendixes,” Appendix I and II. As of September 14, all manta rays species as well as great hammerhead sharks, smooth hammerhead sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and porbeagle sharks are listed in Appendix II. Basking sharks and great white sharks were already listed on Appendix II in prior meetings. Appendix I of the treaty, covering the most endangered of species, bans nearly all trade.

“Now, the international community is paying more attention to the ocean, and the health of marine species like sharks is a good indicator of the health of this big marine ecosystem,” Juan Carlos Vasquez, a legal expert with CITES, told LiveScience.

Sharks are hunted for food and their cartilage and liver oil are used for alternative medicines and folk remedies. According to the journal Marine Policy, 95-100 million sharks are killed annually by hunters. Events like shark week paint a distorted view of the animals, which actually kill fewer humans than ants, cows or deer (fewer than six per year worldwide). However, as an apex predator, sharks play a vital role in marine ecosystems.

Manta rays are far less dangerous, to humans, than sharks. Unfortunately that also makes them easier prey. In recent years the hunting of rays, which are also used for food and folk medicines, has increased considerably.

“A single fishing fleet can easily wipe out a local manta population in weeks or months, with little chance of stocks replenishing given their slow reproduction, limited local populations and lack of migration for some of the species. Their slow maturation and reproductive cycles have raised serious concerns for the future of these species,” reported the Daily Mail in 2011.

In 2010, the UN warned that, at current rates of pollution and overfishing, the world’s oceans could be devoid of fish by 2050.  Since that time, there have been renewed efforts from many nations to protect marine ecosystems and wildlife. In May of this year, President Barack Obama proposed the world’s largest ocean reserve and the latest additions to CITES are just one more step in preserving the planet’s oceans.

CITES will work with national authorities and customs agents from 178 countries, to look for illegal shark and ray parts at ports of entry.