Conservationists move to take Oceanic white tip shark off the menu

The Oceanic white tip shark won initial backing Monday for more protection from the world's main mechanism regulating trade in wildlife.

It barely won the required two-thirds of the votes for inclusion in Appendix II at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Bangkok.

"The primary demand for the white tip is shark fin soup," said Sonja Fordham, of Shark Advocates International.

The trade has led to declines of 70 to 93 per cent in various territories, according to research cited by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.//DPA