Shark fishing banned in the Bahamas
Some 40 species of sharks inhabit the waters of the Atlantic Ocean archipelago
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The Bahamas has banned shark fishing in its waters and prohibited the sale, import and export of shark products.
The new law will effectively turn all 630,000 sq km (243,000 square miles) of the nation's territorial waters into a shark sanctuary.
The ban was approved by Agriculture Minister Larry Cartwright in the capital, Nassau, on Tuesday.
The archipelago joins Honduras, the Maldives and Palau in outlawing shark fishing.
The government also increased shark-fishing fines from $3,000 (£1,900) to $5,000.
Sharks are considered at risk due to demand for their fins in Chinese cuisine - some 73 million of the sea predators are killed each year, environmentalists say.
Needing protection
In 1993 the Bahamas banned long-line fishing, which limited shark fishing and protected 40 species of sharks inhabiting its waters.
But shark fishing was not banned outright, and when a local seafood company announced last year that it planned to export shark meat and fins to Hong Kong, activists called for a new law to be introduced.
Environmentalists welcomed the ban. Neil McKinney, president of the Bahamas National Trust, which manages the country's resources, said sharks played an extremely important role in balancing the ecosystem.
"They desperately need protection if we're not going to drive them to extinction," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
Tourism is a major industry in the Bahamas, and shark-diving earns it $80m a year in revenue, according to a recent survey.
The country's main island, New Providence, is home to Jaws Beach, where one of the Jaws films was shot. Last year, the remains of a boatman who had disappeared off the beach were found in the stomach of a tiger shark caught by an investment banker.
The US-based Pew Environment Group said each reef shark brought some $250,000 to the archipelago's economy.
Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette said he did not think the ban would affect relations with China, which has increased trade with the Bahamas in recent years.
"This is in keeping with the government's commitment to pursue conservation policies and strategies in order to safeguard the marine and terrestrial environment," the Associated Press quoted him as saying.
The Bahamas has become the fourth country to ban shark fishing
The Bahamas on Tuesday approved a law banning shark fishing in its waters, along with selling, importing and exporting shark products. This makes the Bahamas the fourth country to ban shark fishing, joining the Maldives, Honduras, and Palau. The 630,000 sq km of water around the Bahamas has now become an official .

The ban is welcomed by many, including environmentalists. The President of the , Neil McKinney, spoke about the issue saying, "They desperately need protection if we're not going to drive them to extinction." Deputy Prime Minister  also commented on the ban: "This is in keeping with the government's commitment to pursue conservation policies and strategies in order to safeguard the marine and terrestrial environment."

However, some feel that the ban will affect relations with China.  is highly popular in China, with around 73 million sharks killed every year. To prepare shark-fin soup, the , and the body of the shark is thrown back into the water.  A report published by the  found that shark populations have fallen by 70 to 80 per cent, with a third of all shark species being threatened or nearly threatened by extinction.



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