A guide to following shark conservation proposals at CITES on twitter

Posted on By David Shiffman
Conservation, Science

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CITES logoRight now, delegates from 178 countries are meeting in Bangkok, Thailand to discuss a variety of conservation proposals. At the 16th CITES Conference of the Parties, among many other worthy topics, delegates will be debating a record-number of shark and ray proposals. These include iconic species like hammerhead sharks (3 species) and manta rays (2 species), as well as oceanic whitetip sharks, porbeagle sharks, and three species of freshwater stingray.

In addition to a record-number of shark and ray proposals, this year’s Conference of the Parties also has a record-number of attendees live-tweeting the meeting.Those of you who follow me on twitter know that I’ve been re-tweeting lots of information about CITES and these shark conservation proposals. In case you want to get the information directly from the source, I’ve prepared a guide to following along with the meeting on twitter.

1) Follow #CITES . Though this hashtag isn’t exclusively focused on sharks (and isn’t exclusively in English), there’s a lot of good information being shared.

2) Follow #Cites4Sharks . Also use this hashtag if you’re sharing any relevant links or information.

3) Follow the 13 accounts I’ve highlighted below (and let me know in the comments if you have suggestions for any accounts I should add to the list):


A guide to following shark conservation at CITES on twitter

The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties is meeting in Bangkok from March 3rd to March 14. Among other things, a record number of shark and ray proposal are being considered. Here are some recommended accounts to follow if you’re interested in live updates.

Storified by David Shiffman· Tue, Mar 05 2013 07:11:37

CITES has an official twitter account.
See the opening statements of the CITES CoP16 on the CITES home page: http://www.cites.org/CITES
The U.S. has made several proposals at this year’s Conference of the Parties. 
#cites is trending this morning – Learn more about the U.S. proposals here: http://www.fws.gov/International//cites/cop16/index.html … #goodmorningwildlifeUS Fish and Wildlife
@DirectorDanAshe seeks support to list #polarbears in AppendixI at a #CITES event hosted by #Russia http://yfrog.com/h2yr2zamjUSFWS International
Numerous marine conservation NGOs are attending the meeting.
Shark Advocates International advocates for science-based shark and ray fisheries management around the world, and is led by policy expert Sonja Fordham. 
#Sharks have been on #CITES agenda since ’94. High time to list commercially valuable species & control their trade www.CITES4sharksShark Advocates
The Humane Society focuses on animal welfare issues, including endangered species conservation. 
Learn about #CITES from one of our wildlife advocates who is in Bangkok right now! http://bit.ly/161oPOYHumane Society Int’l
Project AWARE aims to organize SCUBA divers around the world to support marine conservation. 
Why CITES is a vital tool for shark conservation & calls to action we’re using on the ground at CoP16 #CITES4SHARKS http://ow.ly/ijn91Project AWARE
The Shark Trust is a UK-based shark conservation NGO. 
Shark discussions starting in earnest, heading for Bangkok to join #cites4sharks coalition. Managed trade, more sustainable future.The Shark Trust
CITES4sharks is a coalition consisting of Shark Advocates International, the Shark Trust, Project AWARE, Humane Society International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. You can also follow #Cites4Sharks . 
Serious oceanic whitetip #shark population declines reported for Atlantic,Pacific & Indian #Oceans http://bit.ly/VsljKB #CITES4sharksCITES4sharks
Shark Defenders focuses on shark sanctuaries. 
New Zealand: 26 countries catch 84% of the world’s sharks #CITES #CITES4sharksShark Defenders
Rachel Brittin is representing the Pew Environment Group
The latest from @citesconvention – photos and information from the committee meetings. http://www.iisd.ca/cites/cop16/4mar.htmlRachel Brittin
The IUCN Shark Specialist Group is attending the meeting. Their role is not to advocate for any particular position, but to provide unbiased and respected scientific advice (more information on this here). 
The official SSG account:
We made an intervention on the Shark Agenda item today. Here is the text and a #jargonfree translation. http://bit.ly/100cIxB #GoTeamIUCN SharkSG
IUCN Shark Specialist Group Chair Dr. Nick Dulvy and co-chair Dr. Colin Simpfendorfer:
Prepping to go to CITES as part of IUCN delegation: hammerheads, mantas, oceanic whitetip, porbeagle, sawfish, fw stingrays are up #CITESNicholas Dulvy
SSG Chair @NickDulvy is giving an intervention at #CITES right now…Colin Simpfendorfer

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