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UK announces stronger controls on shark finning

Project AWARE Foundation applauds the UK decision to lead in the battle against shark "finning" (the wasteful practice of cutting off the fins of a shark and discarding the body at sea) with a complete ban on removal of shark fins at sea. UK Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies has announced strengthened regulations which will stop boats registered in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from obtaining special permits / derogations used to allow separate storage and processing of fins and bodies in special circumstances. Scotland will simultaneously be announcing plans to cease issuing these special permits to their fleet.

The EU banned finning and removal of shark fins at sea in 2003, but loopholes in the regulation limit its effectiveness.  For instance, under a derogation, EU Member States can grant special permits that allow their fishing vessels to remove shark fins at sea as long as the amount of fins on aboard is kept under five percent of the weight of shark bodies.  The EU's allowable fin to carcass ratio is the highest in the world and widely criticized for hampering enforcement and data collection while providing room for finning to occur undetected and unpunished. Hundreds of tonnes of shark fin have been landed by the UK fleet under these permits since the EU shark finning regulation was adopted.

UK Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: "I want the UK to lead the way worldwide in helping to protect these vulnerable species. By stopping these permits we will ensure that this wasteful practice does not happen. We'll also be able to gather more scientific information to help shark conservation by more easily seeing which sharks are being caught and where.

"I'll be writing to the European Commission asking them to review legislation to ensure all sharks caught in European waters will be landed with their fins attached."

Suzanne Pleydell, Project AWARE Foundation (International) Director supports the decision, saying: "This represents a crucial step towards improving shark fisheries management and sends out a strong message for other large shark fishing nations such as Spain to follow suit."

Through its "Protect the Sharks" campaign, Project AWARE disseminates educational materials to public audiences of all ages to help create a worldwide awareness of shark issues. Project AWARE also supports state, federal and international legislative efforts to protect vulnerable shark species. Project AWARE is a steering group member of the Shark Alliance*. For the last three years, the Shark Alliance has successfully campaigned to improve the European Union's management of shark fisheries.

During this year's European Shark Week, Project AWARE with the Shark Alliance is calling on Spain's Prime Minister Zapatero (Spain takes on EU Presidency in January 2010) to promote shark conservation including urgently needed revisions to the EU finning ban.

Facts:

• Shark fins can sell for more than £200 per kilo for use in the Asian delicacy shark fin soup.   The high value of fins in relation to shark meat creates an economic incentive for "finning."
• The shark fin trade is a primary threat to shark populations with tens of millions of sharks killed each year for their fins alone.
• Shortfin Mako, Blue, Silky, Smooth Hammerheads and Thresher Sharks along with deepwater species such as Portuguese Dogfish and Gulper sharks have all been targeted by the UK fleet.
• Currently the EU supplies 27% of all fins imported into Hong Kong.

While there is still work to do to strengthen the EU shark finning regulation, Project AWARE with Shark Alliance members met its primary objective of adoption of a solid European Community Plan of Action (CPOA) for the Sharks earlier this year.  The UK decision to require that sharks are landed with their fins attached removes any opportunity to fin, eases the current finning ban enforcement burden, and facilitates species-specific data collection.

Please continue to show your support for shark conservation.  Visit www.projectaware.org to find out how you can get involved and the 10 Things you Can Do to Help.

Notes: The Shark Alliance is a coalition of 75 conservation, scientific, diving and fishing organizations focused on improving European shark policies. For more information please visit: www.sharkalliance.org 

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