Visual Identification Tools

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 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.