The government of Congo has imposed a ban on shark fishing. "Our aim is to curb large-scale poaching of sharks that is endangering them,' said officials of the forest economy and fishing resource ministry. It is important to regulate shark fishing as their species have a low biological reproduction capacity, the officials added.

The ban will also help in curbing the illegal trade of shark fins. Sharks are mainly poached for their fins as they fetch a high price in the Asian markets.