Shark catch limit attracts lawsuit

TAMPA, Fla. -- Three environmental groups have sued the National Marine Fisheries Services, saying the agency was wrong to raise its limits on the number of sharks fishermen could catch.

The Audubon Society, the Ocean Conservancy and Earthjustice say sharks are vulnerable to overfishing because they grow slowly and produce few young.

In 1997, the fisheries service cut the number of sharks that could be harvested by half, limiting fishermen to 1,285 metric tons. In 1999, it reduced that quota by another 30 percent.

To settle a lawsuit, the agency agreed to return the quota to the 1997 level, said environmentalists.