One-Size-Fits-All? How north-south inequality challenges CITES’ ability to protect the scalloped hammerhead

Abstract

The critically endangered scalloped hammerhead has been listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) since 2014, yet the species continues to decline. This study draws on CITES trade data, expert interviews, and content analysis to answer two research questions: 1) What is the geography and quantity of the scalloped hammerhead trade since its CITES Appendix II listing? And 2) What are the key challenges associated with protecting a species of high commercial and subsistence value, such as the scalloped hammerhead? This research identifies three major challenges that CITES faces in protecting such species. First, it is difficult to list commercially valuable species, as there are often commercial interests at stake, and conflicting beliefs among Parties. Second, Parties are inadequately implementing CITES legislation, resulting in low compliance with regulations. And third, CITES is unable to effectively manage species from the Global South that offer subsistence and economic value to local communities, as shark fishing is legal in some countries, and there is little to no incentive to comply with CITES regulations when livelihoods are on the line. This research affirms a major theme in political ecology literature on CITES and species loss: CITES is limited in its ability to manage species traded from the Global South for various reasons, many of which stem from conditions of socio-economic inequality. In order to protect species like the scalloped hammerhead, CITES needs to do more to address inequality.