- Delegates to the latest meeting of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals adopted new protections for 40 migratory species, including 33 marine animals like sharks, seabirds and shorebirds.
- The convention’s 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15), held in Brazil March 23-29, recognized the importance of “marine flyways” for migratory birds and highlighted key marine biodiversity areas.
- It also urged protection of seamounts from destructive fishing practices and a precautionary approach on deep-sea mining to address potential impacts on migratory species.
- Conservation advocates lauded the steps taken at COP15, but the summit also issued stark warnings that extinction and species decline are accelerating.
Dozens of migratory animals, including 33 marine species, gained new protections during the recent summit for the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. The 15th Conference of the Parties (CMS COP15) took place March 23-29 in Campo Grande, Brazil, under the slogan “Connecting Nature to Sustain Life.”
“It was a very strong COP for marine species,” Amy Fraenkel, CMS executive secretary, told Mongabay after the meeting’s conclusion.
The CMS is a United Nations convention ratified by 132 nations and the European Union that aims to build the international cooperation necessary to conserve migratory species on a global scale.
Among the key outcomes at the latest meeting: Delegates agreed on new or enhanced treaty protections for 40 species and populations, including 26 seabirds, three shorebirds and four shark species. Furthermore, CMS COP15 took steps to reduce bycatch of protected species and to identify marine flyways and key marine areas for the conservation of migratory species. Delegates also called for greater protections for seamounts, recognizing the conservation needs of freshwater fish and guarding against the impacts of deep-sea mining.
“There’s a real need to be looking at ocean systems, including our coasts and the shorebirds that rely on the ocean and coastal systems,” Fraenkel said. “I was happy to see that at this COP, we started to do that.”
But while conservation advocates lauded the steps taken at COP15, the summit also issued stark warnings that extinction and species decline are accelerating.
The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre opened the assembly with an update of its 2024 “State of the World’s Migratory Species” report. The update highlighted worsening trends: Among the 1,189 migratory species populations protected under the CMS treaty in 2024, 49% are declining — up from 44% in just two years. Another 24% are threatened with extinction (up 2%), largely due to overexploitation and habitat loss and fragmentation.
“This is not the right direction that we want to be seeing,” Fraenkel said.
More fish species under protection
The CMS’ work is based on two lists of migratory species, known as “Appendices,” which provide different levels of protection: Species listed in Appendix I require strict protection, including a ban on deliberate hunting, fishing, killing or capturing under almost all circumstances; those listed in Appendix II require international cooperation to ensure their conservation.
Four shark species received new protections at COP15: thresher sharks (Alopias vulpinus), scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) and great hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna mokarran) were added to Appendix I, and the Patagonian narrownose smoothhound (Mustelus schmitti) was added to Appendix II.
“These listings recognize that slow growing endangered shark species should be treated like other marine wildlife such as sea turtles or dolphins,” Dana Tricarico of the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society’s Global Shark Conservation Team said in a press release. “But success will depend on how quickly and effectively countries implement these new obligations at a national level.”
Shark populations are also expected to benefit from a decision taken at COP15 regarding bycatch, namely a ban on retaining on board or landing species listed in Appendix I.
“It’s very easy to enforce that kind of rule, that you’re not allowed to bring that fish to port,” Fraenkel told Mongabay. In the past, CMS had no rule specifying whether species listed in Appendix I could be sold, so fishers could land individuals that had been accidentally captured.
“Proving intent is really hard,” Fraenkel said, noting that this created a “perverse incentive” for fishers to catch endangered species.
The meeting also highlighted the plight of freshwater species. A new assessment by CMS found that migratory freshwater fish are among the most vulnerable wildlife on Earth. It identified, for the first time, 325 freshwater migratory fish species that require intergovernmental cooperation on management under the CMS Convention as they cross international boundaries.
The assessment provides a scientific basis on which countries can build action plans, such as the approved Regional Action Plan for Amazon Migratory Catfish, which includes dorado (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii) and laulao (B. vaillantii) catfish. According to UNEP, dorado catfish, over a lifespan of 12-15-years, can travel 8,000-12,000 kilometers (5,000-7,500 miles). The CMS assessment calls for the development of regional cooperation among multiple countries to protect such species along their migration routes.
COP15 delegates also approved an action plan for the protection of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla).
Marine flyways and biodiversity hotspots
CMS delegates recognized six major marine flyways (Atlantic Ocean, North Indian Ocean, East Indian Ocean, West Pacific Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Southern Ocean), identified by the U.K.-based NGO BirdLife International where seabird migratory flows are concentrated.
“It was great to see the global conservation community come together at COP15 and take historic decisions for migratory birds across flyways,” Nina Mikander, BirdLife’s global director of policy and business, said in a written statement.
According to the organization, the official recognition of these flyways will “provide a structure for countries and stakeholders to coordinate priorities, mobilize finance and deliver action” to protect these areas.
Protection measures on the high seas may also result from CMS’ research mapping important shark and ray areas, important marine mammal areas, important marine turtle areas and key biodiversity areas. These can now be taken into account by participating countries in their respective spatial planning processes.
According to Fraenkel, the identification of these biodiversity hotspot areas represents an important milestone given the entry into force of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement, or BBNJ, which will establish a process for proposing protected areas on the high seas.
“The treaty on areas beyond national jurisdiction is just coming into force,” Fraenkel told Mongabay. “With these kinds of maps, we can show what are the areas that are the most important to protect.”
Deep-sea protection
A COP15 resolution also recognized seamounts as “critical habitats and navigational landmarks” for a wide range of migratory marine species, including whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, turtles and seabirds. Conservationists lauded the approval as a “landmark” decision.
During the meeting, the CMS scientific council reviewed a study titled “Impacts of Deep-sea Mining on Migratory Species.” The research analyzes the potential effects of sediment plumes and wastewater from mining on animal navigation, feeding and prey availability, as well as the introduction of metal-contaminated particles into marine food webs.
Based on the study, COP15 delegates adopted a decision urging the implementation of a previous resolution passed in 2024 calling on parties “not to engage in, or support, deep-seabed mineral exploitation activities until sufficient and robust scientific information has been obtained to ensure that deep-seabed mineral exploitation activities do not cause harmful effects to migratory species, their prey and their ecosystems.”
The next CMS Conference of Parties, COP16, will be held in Bonn, Germany, in 2029.
Banner image: Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran). Image © Andy Murch/sharksandrays.com.
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Citation:
Cancino, X., 2026. Impacts of Deep-sea Mining on Migratory Species: Review and Knowledge Gaps, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Germany. Retrieved from https://coilink.org/20.500.12592/9bcjvjb on 31 Mar 2026. COI: 20.500.12592/9bcjvjb.
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