UN wildlife conference ends with protection for 500 species

The conference also agreed to tighten trade regulations on sharks targeted by the fin trade and tiny frogs with translucent skin.

An international conference on trade in endangered species ended Friday in Panama, with protections established for over 500 species.

The measures were approved by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known by its initials as CITES.

The conference agreed to tighten trade regulations on sharks targeted by the fin trade and tiny frogs with translucent skin.

Global shark populations are declining, with annual deaths due to fisheries reaching about 100 million. The sharks are sought mostly for their fins, which are used in shark fin soup, a popular delicacy in China and elsewhere in Asia.

Over two weeks, the 184-nation gathering sought to combat trade in species facing extinction.

The international wildlife trade treaty, which was adopted 49 years ago in Washington, D.C., has been praised for helping stem the illegal and unsustainable trade in ivory and rhino horns as well as in whales and sea turtles.

The translucent or glass' frogs have been hit hard by habitat loss, diseases and their popularity in the pet trade, said Joaquín de la Torre, the international director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW.