The Shark Alliance is supporting the amendment to the EU ban on shark finning that would require that fins remain naturally attached to shark bodies until fishing vessels return to port. This option was included in a public consultation document released today by the European Commission.
The Commission had pledged to strengthen the ban on finning—the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea. The current EU regulation has many loopholes which make it possible for fishermen to fin an estimated two of three sharks without detection or punishment. The Commission is soliciting input on three options for amending the associated regulation, including two that could substantially strengthen the current regulation. .
Uta Bellion, director of the Pew Environment Group’s European Marine Programme and European coordinator of the Shark Alliance, comments the EU has turned deaf ear to the shark finning. He added that this consultation could result in a substantial policy improvement, particularly if the one truly reliable option for preventing finning—a complete prohibition on the removal of shark fins at sea—is adopted.
It is good to implement shark finning ban as this policy result in vastly improved enforcement, but it will also allow for better species-specific catch data collection, which is vital for the assessment and management of shark populations. The Shark Alliance has long highlighted the inadequacies of the EU finning ban and will participate fully in the Commission’s public consultation.
