Article Summary:

The Sabah state cabinet of Borneo Island, Malaysia has agreed with minister Masidi Manjuner in his attempt to have sharks added to the protected species list in the Sabah Wildlife Act, the Borneo Post reports. Mr. Manjuner has said that local activists and foreign tourists have complained about cruel shark finning activities by local fishermen and that the state government is aiming to impose a ban on finning that will start next year. If successful, this will make Sabah the first state in Malaysia, one of the world’s top shark-catching countries, to impose such a ban.

The proposed ban still faces staunch opposition from the Sabah Restaurants Association. Its chairman, Lim Vun Chen described the move as “illogical”, and said sharks should be harvested like any other marine creature.