Palau is seeking a ban on all shark lines used on long line vessels based on scientific evidence that silky sharks are currently being overfished.
Palau's director of oceanic fisheries management Nanette Malsol says the measure has been raised at the week-long Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting in Cairns, Australia.
Ms Malsol has told Islands Business, on behalf of the Forum Fisheries Agency, that Palau wants a ban on shark lines and wire traces on long line tuna vessels because it believes these fishing methods are legally and socially irresponsible.
She says a number of species like basking shark, great white shark, oceanic white tips and hammerhead sharks have been listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
