Both species are critically endangered in the North Atlantic according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Scientists and the European Commission recommended ending all fishing of them in order to protect their numbers. Porbeagle meat is among the most prized of all shark meat and particularly valuable in Europe, and their large fins are also used in shark fin soup - an Asian delicacy.

Sonja Fordham, EU shark policy director for the Pew Environment Group and the Shark Alliance, said: 'Ending fisheries for critically endangered porbeagle and spurdog will allow European populations to recover while enhancing the EU's ability to promote conservation of the species on a global scale.'

The EU has also proposed that porbeagle and spurdog sharks be listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - a treaty that aims to stop the trade in species that are at risk.

It is hoped the move will protect porbeagles that gather in breeding aggregations off Cornwall in the summer. There are fears that fishermen targeting their aggregations have already had a major impact on the dwindling population of this species.