各国就保护十多种鲨鱼达成一致

各国就保护十多种鲨鱼达成一致

Countries have agreed to protect more than a dozen shark species at risk of extinction, in a move aimed at conserving some of the ocean’s most awe-inspiring creatures who have themselves become prey to commercial fishing and the Chinese appetite for shark fin soup.

各国已同意保护十多种濒临灭绝的鲨鱼物种，此举旨在保护海洋中一些最令人敬畏的动物，这些动物本身已成为商业捕鱼和中国人对鱼翅汤的胃口的猎物。

Three proposals covering the international trade of 18 types of mako sharks, wedgefishes and guitarfishes each passed with a needed two-thirds majority in a committee of the World Wildlife Conference known as CITES on Sunday.

在周日召开的世界野生动物大会(CITES)的一个委员会上，涉及18种鲭鲨、楔鱼类和吉它鱼国际贸易的三份提案均获得了所需的三分之二多数通过。

“Today we are one step closer to protecting the fastest shark in the ocean, as well as the most threatened,” said Jen Sawada, who directs The Pew Charitable Trusts’ shark conservation work. The measures don’t ban fishing these sharks and rays, but any trade must be sustainable.

皮尤慈善信托基金鲨鱼保护工作负责人Jen Sawada说:“今天，我们离保护海洋中最快的鲨鱼，以及最受威胁的鲨鱼又近了一步。”这些措施并没有禁止捕捞这些鲨鱼和鳐鱼，但任何贸易都必须是可持续的。

The move isn’t final but is a key sign before an official decision at its plenary this coming week.

此举并非最终决定，但在下周的全会上正式决定之前，这是一个关键迹象。

Conservationists applauded and exchanged hugs after the tallies. Opponents variously included China, Iceland, Japan, Malaysia and New Zealand. The US voted against the mako shark measure but supported the other two.

自然资源保护主义者在统计之后鼓掌并互相拥抱。反对者包括中国、冰岛、日本、马来西亚和新西兰。美国投票反对鲭鲨法案，但支持另外两项。

Critics variously argued that the measures distanced CITES from its initial mandate to protect endangered land animals and plants, not marine life and insisted the science didn’t back up the call to increase protections. They also noted that that millions of Mako sharks exist and even the CITES secretariat advised against the protections.

批评人士认为，这些措施与《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》最初保护濒危陆地动植物的使命背道而驰，而不是保护海洋生物，并坚称科学没有支持增加保护的呼吁。他们还指出，有数百万的灰鲭鲨存在，甚至CITES秘书处也反对保护灰鲭鲨。

But proponents countered that stocks of sharks are in a deep dive, with tens of millions killed each year and that measures need to be taken now — with what they call some of the most significant rules ever adopted for trade in shark parts.

但支持者反驳说，鲨鱼的数量正在急剧下降，每年有数千万条鲨鱼死亡，现在需要采取措施——他们称之为鲨鱼器官贸易史上最重要的一些规定。

Rima Jabado, a shark expert and lead scientist of the Gulf Elasmo project, said many of the species included in the CITES proposals are classified as “critically endangered.” Jabado said there has been an 80 percent decline in the number of wedgefishes, based on available data. Like giant guitarfishes, the enigmatic wedgefish has an elongated triangle-shaped head and can be found in oceans in Southeast Asia, the Arabian Sea and East Africa.

墨西哥湾Elasmo项目的鲨鱼专家和首席科学家Rima Jabado说，CITES提案中包括的许多物种被列为“极度濒危物种”。Jabado说，根据现有数据，楔形鱼的数量减少了80%。像巨大的吉他鱼一样，神秘的楔形鱼有一个细长的三角形头部，可以在东南亚、阿拉伯海和东非的海洋中找到。

Makos are the world’s fastest sharks, reaching speeds of up to 80 mph. But they often get caught up in the nets of fishing trawlers hunting for tuna.

灰鲭鲨是世界上速度最快的鲨鱼，时速可达80英里。但是他们经常被捕捞金枪鱼的拖网渔船的网缠住。

Several countries with large fishing fleets, including Japan, opposed the measure to protect mako sharks.

包括日本在内的几个拥有大型捕鱼船队的国家反对保护灰鲭鲨的措施。

“Japan has been highly dependent on (live) marine resources from the ancient times,” said Hideki Moronuki, director of fisheries negotiations at the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. “It’s very, very important for us in Japan to sustainably use all those marine riches,” he said. He was among those who noted that even the CITES secretariat had recommended rejecting the mako shark proposal.

日本农林水产省渔业谈判主管Hideki Moronuki表示，"日本自古以来高度依赖(活的)海洋资源。"他说:“对我们日本人来说，可持续利用所有这些海洋资源是非常、非常重要的。”他和其他一些人指出，就连CITES秘书处也建议拒绝灰鲭鲨的提案。

CITES concluded that “with the possible but uncertain exception of the Mediterranean, the population of (mako sharks) does not seem to have declined below the 30% threshold in different ocean regions” and that “it is currently not projected that declines would continue.”

CITES的结论是，“除了地中海可能存在但不确定的例外，不同海域的灰鲭鲨(mako shark)数量似乎没有下降到30%以下的阈值”，而且“目前预计不会继续下降”。

Still, Jabado said some species of sharks and rays are becoming so difficult to find in the wild that scientists only often see them when they are on sale at local fish markets.

尽管如此，贾巴多说，一些种类的鲨鱼和鳐鱼在野外越来越难找到，科学家们只有在当地的鱼类市场上出售时才会经常看到它们。

“How are we ever going to save these species if we only see them when fishermen bring them in?” she said, adding that even if actions are taken now, it will be decades before shark populations start to recover. Losing more sharks and rays could also have other unintended consequences since they are top ocean predators and help to balance the ecosystems, Jabado said.

“如果我们只在渔民把它们带回来的时候看到它们，我们怎么能拯救这些物种呢?”她补充说，即使现在采取行动，鲨鱼的数量也要过几十年才能开始恢复。贾巴多说，失去更多的鲨鱼和鳐鱼还可能带来其他意想不到的后果，因为它们是顶级海洋食肉动物，有助于平衡生态系统。

Scientists warn that although warming oceans and climate change are also hurting sharks, it is the demand for shark fin soup that is threatening to drive some species to extinction. The Pew Trust estimates that between 63 million and 273 million sharks are killed every year, mostly to feed the shark fin trade centered in Hong Kong.

科学家警告说，尽管海洋变暖和气候变化也在伤害鲨鱼，但对鱼翅汤的需求正威胁着一些物种的灭绝。皮尤信托(Pew Trust)估计，每年有6300万至2.73亿头鲨鱼被捕杀，主要是为了满足以香港为中心的鱼翅贸易。