Australia's shark stance 'hypocritical' after opting out of legally binding deal

Australia supports addition of species to conservation memorandum while claiming exemptions from international agreement

The Australian government has been accused of hypocrisy after signing a non-binding agreement protecting endangered sharks, despite recently withdrawing from a legally binding international accord.

In November 2014, the Australian government agreed to grant 31 species of sharks protection under the UN-administered convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals. That made it an offence under Australian law to catch those sharks.