Endangered species convention approves protections for sharks, rays BANGKOK, March 11 (UPI) -- An endangered species convention meeting in Thailand has voted to extend protection to five shark species and institute controls on their international trade. At the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Bangkok, two species of manta ray were also added to the CITES Appendix II list, in the first addition of commercially valuable shark and ray species in the convention's 40-year history, Environmental News Service reported Monday. Under the appendix, international trade in the species is allowed but only under a permit system to ensure exports are sustainable and legal. With more than 100 million sharks killed each year, these slow-growing, late-maturing species are being killed faster than they can reproduce, the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization has said. "The sharks covered by the CITES decisions are highly vulnerable and have experienced alarming declines over the last years in all oceans," European Environment Commissioner Jan Potocnik and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said in a statement. The fins of many sharks are in great demand for soups in Asia and can bring as much as $700 a pound. "Those [listing] measures have a global coverage and will ensure that international trade only occurs if there are guarantees that it is sustainable," Potocnik and Damanaki said. This will represent a landmark development for the protection of marine resources worldwide, for the benefits of marine resources and those who depend on it.