Summary: Japan and pro-shark fishing lost a bid to overturn a landmark deal to offer international trade protection for several species of the ocean's oldest predator. The decision to restrict exports in the oceanic whitetip shark, the porbeagle, three types of hammerheads and the manta ray won final approval by the 178-member Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The gathering, which ended on Thursday, comes against the backdrop of a decimation of African elephant herds, rhinos, marine life and several timber species. The CITES debates are being seen as one of the most crucial in the 40-year history of the convention. Burtwhat will it take to enforce the deal? And is stopping the illegal trade in endangered species even possible? Inside Story, with presenter Jane Dutton, discusses with guests: Colman O'Criodain, a trade policy analyst at the World Wildlife Fund and a biologist; Susan Lieberman, the head of the Pew's environmental trust CITES delegation; Tom Quinn, from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
