Shark fin, bluefin tuna off the menu at Hong Kong government banquets

The Hong Kong government has banned shark fin, bluefin tuna and black moss from the menu at official functions, hoping to "set a good example".

And officials have been ordered not to eat them if they are served up at non-government banquets.

Bureaus and departments will also be encouraging other organisations to adopt the ban.

"Since it is not possible to list all food items of concern exhaustively, the exclusion of these three items from official menus is a start and also serves as an example to raise public education and awareness about sustainability," a spokesman said.

He said eating shark fin, bluefin tuna and black moss - a type of bacteria that grows in hair-like strands - was widely frowned upon in Hong Kong and internationally.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed 74 species of sharks as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered, and says finning is inhumane.

Bluefin tuna is also endangered, with numbers having fallen by half over the past four decades.