A global wildlife summit in Panama on Thursday took an important step to improve protection for sharks, the ancient marine vertebrates used in status symbol soup for their fins.

A committee voted to approve a proposal to add requiem and hammerhead sharks to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The appendix lists species that may not yet be critically endangered, but could become so if their trade is not tightly controlled.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which is campaigning for the sharks to be included in the appendix, says the requiem shark family accounts for at least 70 percent of the fin trade.

According to Luke Warwick of the Wildlife Conservation Society, “We are in the midst of a very large shark extinction crisis.”

He said sharks, which are vital to the ocean’s ecosystem, are “the second most threatened vertebrate group on the planet.”

Shark fin – which represents a market of about $500 million a year – can be sold in East Asia for about $1,000 per kilogram to be used in shark fin soup, a delicacy.

The requiem shark family includes species such as the tiger shark, silky shark, and gray reef shark.

Also ahead of the CITES assembly, which is underway in Panama City, freshwater stingrays and guitarfish will be added to Appendix II, among other species.

The conference is considering 52 proposals to change the level of protection for species, which also include crocodiles, lizards, snakes, freshwater turtles and several plant and tree species.

A final decision will be made at the closing session of the CITES Conference of the Parties (COP-19) on 25 November.

CITES, which has been in force since 1975, regulates trade in around 36,000 plant and animal species and provides mechanisms to help combat illegal trade.

It sanctions countries that break the rules. Its members are 183 countries and the European Union.