Centre urged to support listing of sharks as endangered species

An organisation working for animal rights Wednesday urged the union Environment and Forest Ministry to support listing of sharks and manta ray as endangered species.

The issue of listing sharks and manta ray as endangered species will be taken up at the 11th meeting of the conference of parties to the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS) in Ecuador's Quito city in November.

"As a long standing member of the convention of migratory species, India's support would greatly strengthen proposals for the listing of these threatened species and shall bolster the conservation measures being undertaken by all CMS member nations internationally," N.G. Jayasimha, managing director of Humane Society International, India, wrote in a letter to the ministry.

According to the CMS, migratory sharks are highly vulnerable to over exploitation as they grow slowly, mature late and produce very few offspring.