Authorities in Brazil have confiscated nearly 29 tonnes of illegal shark fins bound for Asia in what they described as possibly the largest such seizure ever.

Environment protection agency Ibama estimated some 10,000 blue sharks and shortfin mako sharks had been killed for the fins. The two species were added to Brazil’s national list of endangered species last month.

“It is possibly the largest seizure in history of this type of product,” Ibama environmental protection director Jair Schmitt said in a statement.

Ibama’s operation targeted two export companies but others were still under investigation, Schmitt said.

Officials said the firms had illegally used permits for other species to amass the huge haul.

Shark fishing is banned in Brazil.

Fighting the destruction of Brazil’s fauna and flora is a major goal of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration after his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, weakened environmental agencies and oversight powers.

“This action is very emblematic because it symbolises the return of Ibama to the protection of the marine environment and especially the protection of the illegal fish trade in the country,” Schmitt added.

A single exporting company in the southern state of Santa Catarina was responsible for 27.6 metric tonnes of fins, while the remainder was seized at Sao Paulo International Airport from the second company, Ibama said, without naming the firms or people involved.

Sea Shepherd Brazil, a nonprofit marine conservation organisation, called on the Brazilian government to ban the shark fin trade and shark meat imports into Brazil, saying this would be vital to protect the species.

Shark fin is seen as a delicacy in parts of Asia, and its consumption – mainly as soup – has long been associated with status and wealth.

The animal parts can fetch up to $1,000 a kilogram in Asia, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Indiscriminate fishing is causing a “drastic reduction” in shark populations worldwide, said Ibama.

However, sharks got a boost in November, when 183 countries approved a plan to protect 54 species from the hammerhead and requiem shark families – two of the most trafficked for shark fin soup – under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). (Al Jazeera)

•PHOTO: The fins came from two species of shark added to Brazil's national list of endangered species last month [Brazilian Environmental Agency/Handout via Reuters]

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