Cathay Pacific boasts its title as one of the first airlines to bring awareness to the international shark trade. However, the airline now takes its commitment to sustainability and animal rights a step further. Previously, the airline enacted a policy requiring all shipments of shark products to undergo a rigorous assessment by an external panel to determine if the products were sustainably sourced. In the past year, Cathay Pacific received 15 requests to ship shark products on its aircraft, and all were rejected after failing the assessment. As of this month, the airline eliminated the assessment process completely and proudly banned the entire shipping of shark and shark products. The statement released last week indicates the ban will receive periodic review. The Hong Kong branch of the World Wildlife Fund applauded Cathay Pacific’s decision, alluding to the increasing difficulty to properly assess whether a shark product is sourced sustainably. The questionable status of international shark fisheries, varying international regulations and difficulty identifying shark species included in shark fin shipments all make a proper assessment problematic. Cathay Pacific is one of 30 international passenger airlines to completely ban the carriage of shark and shark products. Now, conservation organizations such as WildAid are calling other airlines to join the movement. “A responsible airline like Cathay Pacific should never be seen to be a link in the supply chain for a criminal trade. That’s why we are so happy that Cathay has done the right thing by no longer carrying any shark fin or shark products. Shipping sharks by air is not just an issue of sustainability, but ethics and legality,” said Alex Hofford, campaign manager, Hong Kong, WildAid. Now, WildAid is hoping to convince Fiji Airways to ditch its outdated policy on shark cargo, as well as Hong Kong Airlines and Malindo Air to clarify their current policies. On the home front, the organization is seeing positive results from growing public awareness; WildAid’s 2015 report states shark fin sales in Guangzhou decreased by 82 percent since 2013, and 85 percent of Chinese shark fin consumers reported removing the delicacy from their diet.