China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco) has pledged the implementation of a transport ban on shark fins after the discovery earlier this month of 880 kg of endangered hammerhead shark fins on board one of its vessels arriving in Hong Kong from Panama.
The South China Morning Post reported that Cosco had promised the new policy in a letter to the Hong Kong branch of U.S. wildlife conservation group WildAid, though no indication of when the ban would be introduced was given.
According to the report, Cosco’s new policy means 68 percent of shipping companies have committed to stop transporting shark fins.
Hong Kong is one of the largest consumers per capita of shark fins in the world, and, according to WWF data, accounts for around 50 percent of the global shark fin trade.
In 2010, WWF-Hong Kong launched the “alternative shark-free menu” program, aimed at collaborating with caterers to offer alternative shark-free banquet menus.
