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DeliciousPalau (global-adventures.us): Palau, a small island and diver’s paradise in the Pacific, is currently creating the world’s first shark sanctuary to protect great hammerheads, leopard sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and more than 130 other species fighting extinction. The news was announced today at the United Nations General Assembly.
"Palau will declare its territorial waters and extended economic zone (EEZ) to be the first officially recognized sanctuary for sharks," said Palauan President Johnson Toribiong. "We'll do the very best we can, given our resources," he said. "The purpose of this is to call attention to the world to the killing of sharks for commercial purposes, including getting the fins to make shark fin soups, and then they throw the bodies in the water."
For the past 25 years, shark fishing has grown rapidly, mainly due to demand from China where shark soup is a highly prized symbol of wealth. Sharks are vulnerable to overfishing, due to their long lifespan and low fertility rate. Toribiong said a recent flyover by Australian aircraft showed more than 70 vessels fishing Palau's waters, many of them illegally.
Palau is among 20 seafaring nations that already have voluntarily agreed to end bottom trawling, which involves fishing boats that drag giant nets along the sea floor. Since dive tourism is a major source of income for the 490-square-kilometre archipelago in the Pacific, Palau is keen to protect its environment.
