Taiwan bans shark finning

Taiwan, which has the fourth largest shark-fishing industry in the world, has passed a new law to ban shark-finning.

The practice of cutting off the fins and throwing the bodies back into the sea has been blamed for the 80 per cent drop in shark populations.

The ban, which is due to take effect next year, has been welcomed by conservationists but they say it does not go far enough.

Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazley reports.