各國就保護(hù)十多種鯊魚達(dá)成一致

各國就保護(hù)十多種鯊魚達(dá)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.

各國已同意保護(hù)十多種瀕臨滅絕的鯊魚物種，此舉旨在保護(hù)海洋中一些最令人敬畏的動物，這些動物本身已成為商業(yè)捕魚和中國人對魚翅湯的胃口的獵物。

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.

在周日召開的世界野生動物大會(CITES)的一個委員會上，涉及18種鯖鯊、楔魚類和吉它魚國際貿(mào)易的三份提案均獲得了所需的三分之二多數(shù)通過。

“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.

皮尤慈善信托基金鯊魚保護(hù)工作負(fù)責(zé)人Jen Sawada說:“今天，我們離保護(hù)海洋中最快的鯊魚，以及最受威脅的鯊魚又近了一步。”這些措施并沒有禁止捕撈這些鯊魚和鰩魚，但任何貿(mào)易都必須是可持續(xù)的。

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

此舉并非最終決定，但在下周的全會上正式?jīng)Q定之前，這是一個關(guān)鍵跡象。

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.

自然資源保護(hù)主義者在統(tǒng)計之后鼓掌并互相擁抱。反對者包括中國、冰島、日本、馬來西亞和新西蘭。美國投票反對鯖鯊法案，但支持另外兩項。

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.

批評人士認(rèn)為，這些措施與《瀕危野生動植物種國際貿(mào)易公約》最初保護(hù)瀕危陸地動植物的使命背道而馳，而不是保護(hù)海洋生物，并堅稱科學(xué)沒有支持增加保護(hù)的呼吁。他們還指出，有數(shù)百萬的灰鯖鯊存在，甚至CITES秘書處也反對保護(hù)灰鯖鯊。

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.

但支持者反駁說，鯊魚的數(shù)量正在急劇下降，每年有數(shù)千萬條鯊魚死亡，現(xiàn)在需要采取措施——他們稱之為鯊魚器官貿(mào)易史上最重要的一些規(guī)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.

墨西哥灣Elasmo項目的鯊魚專家和首席科學(xué)家Rima Jabado說，CITES提案中包括的許多物種被列為“極度瀕危物種”。Jabado說，根據(jù)現(xiàn)有數(shù)據(jù)，楔形魚的數(shù)量減少了80%。像巨大的吉他魚一樣，神秘的楔形魚有一個細(xì)長的三角形頭部，可以在東南亞、阿拉伯海和東非的海洋中找到。

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.

灰鯖鯊是世界上速度最快的鯊魚，時速可達(dá)80英里。但是他們經(jīng)常被捕撈金槍魚的拖網(wǎng)漁船的網(wǎng)纏住。

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

包括日本在內(nèi)的幾個擁有大型捕魚船隊的國家反對保護(hù)灰鯖鯊的措施。

“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.

日本農(nóng)林水產(chǎn)省漁業(yè)談判主管Hideki Moronuki表示，"日本自古以來高度依賴(活的)海洋資源。"他說:“對我們?nèi)毡救藖碚f，可持續(xù)利用所有這些海洋資源是非常、非常重要的。”他和其他一些人指出，就連CITES秘書處也建議拒絕灰鯖鯊的提案。

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的結(jié)論是，“除了地中?？赡艽嬖诘淮_定的例外，不同海域的灰鯖鯊(mako shark)數(shù)量似乎沒有下降到30%以下的閾值”，而且“目前預(yù)計不會繼續(xù)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.

盡管如此，賈巴多說，一些種類的鯊魚和鰩魚在野外越來越難找到，科學(xué)家們只有在當(dāng)?shù)氐聂~類市場上出售時才會經(jīng)?？吹剿鼈?。

“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.

“如果我們只在漁民把它們帶回來的時候看到它們，我們怎么能拯救這些物種呢?”她補充說，即使現(xiàn)在采取行動，鯊魚的數(shù)量也要過幾十年才能開始恢復(fù)。賈巴多說，失去更多的鯊魚和鰩魚還可能帶來其他意想不到的后果，因為它們是頂級海洋食肉動物，有助于平衡生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。

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.

科學(xué)家警告說，盡管海洋變暖和氣候變化也在傷害鯊魚，但對魚翅湯的需求正威脅著一些物種的滅絕。皮尤信托(Pew Trust)估計，每年有6300萬至2.73億頭鯊魚被捕殺，主要是為了滿足以香港為中心的魚翅貿(mào)易。