Seven Arab countries will mark an historic milestone on Monday when they sign an agreement in Dubai to protect migrating sharks in Middle East waters from illegal trade.

 

The move will create larger protected underwater corridors to protect shrinking shark stocks in regional waters where they are harvested for their fins to supply Far East market demand for a high-end brothy soup.

 

Monday’s signing will signal the first time Arab countries have joined the Memorandum of Understanding on the Convention of Migratory Sharks, a global measure signed to date by 26 countries and the European Union.

 

Delegates from UAE, Mauritania, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Jordan, Somalia, Syria and Comoros have confirmed they will be in Dubai next week for the signing.

 

The gathering will be held in conjunction with a special training workshop for government and conservation officials organized by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in association with the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water.

 

Under the watch of the UAE environment ministry, shark finning was declared illegal in 2011 in the UAE. The UAE is not a major harvester of local Gulf sharks despite it being the fifth largest exporter of shark fins to Hong Kong, according to the ministry.