The?Taiwan Fisheries Agency announced?that it will impose a ban next year on shark finning.

Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group, issued the following statement Monday? that he believes Taiwan is on the right track when it comes to protecting sharks.

"However, it falls short of what is really needed. With up to 73 million sharks killed every year, many by Taiwan's fleet, a finning ban does not address the larger overfishing problem that is driving these animals toward extinction. " He said.

"As the images we released this week show, enormous numbers of sharks are coming into Taiwan's ports. The announced policy does not set limits on how many sharks can be killed by Taiwanese vessels fishing in any ocean. As such, the hunt will continue.

"To truly reduce the excessive pressure fishing has on these animals, Taiwan should prohibit catching sharks that are threatened or near threatened with extinction. It should also end fishing of shark species that do not have science-based management plans in place to ensure that these animals are caught at a sustainable level. As countries around the world are establishing sanctuaries that ban shark fishing in their own waters, we hope Taiwan will move to further protect sharks."