Sharks Slaughtered for Supplements

A Chinese company killing hundreds of endangered sharks to make health supplements, has been exposed as running the world's largest shark abattoir.

Some of the supplements are sold in New Zealand, while others are presented as coming from New Zealand sharks.

The Hong Kong marine conservation group WildLifeRisk said it had run a four-year investigation into the company that it said was processing more than 600 endangered whale sharks a year, as well as dealing in two other threatened species.

They said migratory whale sharks present in Australian waters were being caught off the coast of China in the South China Sea, and also further afield in the Pacific - in waters of the Philippines, Indonesia and even as far away as Mexico. "Evidence gathered points to an extensive trade network fanning out from China across the globe," the group said.

The shark skins are sold as leather, with shark flesh sold as food, WildLifeRisk says.