Crackdown on shark fishing opposed by Japan, China
People look at a hammerhead shark while visiting the Georgia Aquarium on April 2, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Almost 100 million sharks are caught every year, mainly for their fins, in trade estimated to be worth up to half a billion dollars a year. Shark fin soup is a delicacy in Asia, but overfishing has decimated several shark species.
In all, five species of shark and two manta rays were given protection at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
The BBC’s environment reporter Matt McGrath joins Marketplace Morning Report host to explain why Japan and China are against the measure.