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Governments at a wildlife trade conference have adopted greater protections for over 70 species of sharks and rays amid concerns that overfishing is driving some to the brink of extinction.

The measures, approved Friday at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in Uzbekistan, bans the trade in oceanic whitetip sharks, manta and devil rays as well as whale sharks. It would strengthen regulations for gulper sharks, smoothhound sharks and the tope shark, which means they can be traded, but there must be proof the sources are legal, sustainable and traceable.

Governments also agreed to enact zero-annual export quotas for several species of guitarfishes and wedgefishes, meaning the legal international t

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