The EU has tabled three ambitious proposals at this year's annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) which, if adopted, will represent a major leap forward in the protection of vulnerable shark species in the Atlantic. The proposals call for the banning of directed fisheries on the endangered thresher and hammerhead sharks, the freezing of effort on the vulnerable blue and shortfin mako sharks, and defined steps leading to a coherent global approach in 2009 on the protection of porbeagle in the Atlantic Ocean. Taken together with the Commission's recent proposal to ban all fishing on porbeagle in EU waters, these measures represent a landmark package of initiatives to protect these highly sensitive species.