Brazil – Shark Stewards

Urgent Measures Taken for Endangered Hammerheads

Governments at the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) have agreed to significant new protections for some of the world’s most endangered species of large sharks.

The decisions adopted at the the 15th Conference of the Parties (CoP15) in Campo Grande, Brazil last week included new listings of Hammerhead and Thresher sharks on CMS Appendix, I, the highest amount of protection provided internationally.

At the CMS COP15 conference (March 2026), key proposals include listing three thresher shark species—pelagic, bigeye, and common thresher on Appendix I for strict protection. Other sharks proposed for protection due to population declines include great and scalloped hammerheads, various angelsharks, and wedgefishes.