Landmark vote gives boost to threatened sharks

More than 50 species of shark are to be given protection from overexploitation in what's being seen as a milestone for shark conservation.

Nearly 200 countries have voted to add a raft of sharks to the list of species protected under global trade rules. The measures apply to the requiem shark family which includes Tiger Shark, as well as to six small hammerhead sharks.

Tiger Shark is one of the species set to benefit from the new protections (Albert Kok).

The sharks are being pushed to the edge of extinction by the trade in fins to make shark fin soup. This "landmark" vote will give these two shark families "a fighting chance" of survival, said Sue Lieberman of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

"We know that there's a biodiversity crisis," she said. "One of the major threats to species in the wild is overexploitation for trade."

Luke Warwick, Director of Shark and Ray Conservation at WCS: "The proposals adopted today for the requiem and hammerhead sharks, championed by the government of Panama, will forever change how the world's ocean predators are managed and protected."