Identification

Visual identification is the cheapest and easiest way to quickly check whether a shipment of shark products requires CITES paperwork. Unprocessed, dried fins are the most commonly traded shark product, but full bodied and processed shark carcasses are traded as well.

The three guides below have been created to assist fisheries and enforcement officials to visually identify dried shark products, full carcasses and processed carcasses of CITES-listed shark and ray species, which ultimately improve data collection and assist with enforcement.

In English:

In French:

CITES CoP19 Fin Identification Guide

In English:

In Spanish:

Non-Detriment findings

For some CITES listed species, trade is still possible when limited to sustainable levels. In order to legally export this trade, governments must create a Non-Detriment Finding (NDF) that analyzes local populations and catch, resulting in an export quota for each listed species.

Concentrated efforts on the part of many governments and NGOs has resulted in the development of NDF guidance and tools specifically for sharks and rays.

Genetics tools

Visual identification is the most commonly used technique to identify shark products in trade, but to verify a suspected CITES listed fins, or in the case of processed fins or meat, genetic testing is often needed.

Depending on the number of samples needed to test and how processed or degraded the samples are, three approaches have been created to identify whether products are sources from CITES listed shark and ray species.

Genetic protocols have been created for all CoP17 and earlier CITES listed species, and are in the process of being created for the species listed at CITES CoP18, with the exception of the mako shark which has already been developed.

Additionally,  where officials suspect CITES listed sharks are present, but need additional genetic confirmation before they are legally allowed to seize a shipment, a rapid DNA toolkit may be helpful to confirm findings.