Aviation firm, Cathay Pacific has said that it will not accept to carry shark fins as cargo on its flights due to the vulnerable nature of sharks.

The company said in a release that, "Due to the vulnerable nature of sharks, their rapidly declining population, and the impacts of overfishing for their parts and products, our carriage of these is inconsistent with our commitment to sustainable development."

Cathay Pacific is the largest airline in Hong Kong that accounts for about half of the global trade in shark fins in the world. The airline had received letters from 40 environmental and humane groups asking for banning the cargo.

The groups have claimed that more than 10,200 metric tons of shark fin were imported into Hong Kong in the previous year. Out of the total import, about 13 per cent was as air cargo. The Shark fin soup is a delicacy in China and is often seen available off the menu in some Chinese restaurants.

Fins are worth many times more than other parts of the shark as upto $50,000 can be made from the sale of the fin of a whale shark.