Protected status for basking sharks as minister warns we live in 'an age of mass extinction'

Basking sharks are highly vulnerable to over-exploitation, and recovery from depletion is very slow.

One of the most globally endangered shark species has been granted protected status in Ireland after years of campaigning by biodiversity experts.

Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue announced that basking sharks will now be shielded in law from hunting, injury, or interference with their habitat under the 1976 Wildlife Act.