Customs inspectors have found nearly a half ton of shark fins cut illegally from protected hammerhead sharks.
Customs director Gloria Moreno de Lopez said that the fins were found at Panama’s international airport in a shipment labelled as dried fish.
She said the container originated in Ecuador and was bound for New York City.
Environmental organisations say shark fins are prized as a delicacy, and overfishing is putting many hammerhead sharks at risk of extinction.
Fishermen who harvest the animals typically cut off the fins and toss the carcass back into the sea.
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