Canada moves to protect the porbeagle shark - and 10 other sea species - after an audit exposed 22 years of foot-dragging

Canada's federal government has proposed adding 11 aquatic species - including the porbeagle shark, two populations of spiny dogfish and several skates - to the formal list of species protected under federal law. The move follows the government's own auditor documenting a systematic bias against listing commercially valuable fish, which stalled protections for more than two decades. Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson has opened a 30-day public comment period before a final decision. For the porbeagle, a powerful shark of the North Atlantic, formal protection would be a long-overdue shield.