The government of Hong Kong has announced it would stop serving shark fin and bluefin tuna at official functions, in a move hailed by conservation groups.
The Hong Kong government further added, it would also encourage government-funded bodies to follow suit.
World Wildlife Fund said demand for the fins and other shark-related products had led to a steep fall of 60-70 per cent in numbers.
Hong Kong, one of the world's biggest markets for shark fin, had seen imports decline partly due to a clampdown on lavish official functions on the Chinese mainland, the final destination for many of the imports.
The population of Pacific blue fin tuna had dropped an estimated 96 per cent since the 1950s.
Another delicacy, black moss - also known as fat choy - whose cultivation had been blamed for desertification and erosion in certain areas, had also been banned at official Hong Kong functions.
The government said in a press release that it was taking the step because the items "have aroused international and local concern because they are either captured or harvested in ecologically unfriendly or unsustainable ways, or cause other conservation concerns."
