Stop Shark Finning in Europe
Every year, up to 273 million sharks die in our oceans. Most are hunted for their fins.
Unknowingly to most of us, Europe plays a dreadful role in the shark fin trade every single day.
For example, In 2016 alone, Spain officially landed 53,000 tons of blue shark, equivalent to approximately 1,75 million animals.
Shark fins are worth a LOT of money. It makes sense as to why they are called ‘gold of the sea’. The fins of the deep-sea shark have a value of about 600€/kg. So the fins are actually more valuable than silver.
On average, 3,500 tonnes of fins with a total value of around 52 million euro, are exported from the EU each year. But because inspections of sea vessels are so sporadic, nobody can say with certainty how many shark fins are still illegally landed in Europe.
Credit: Stop Finning EU & Shawn Heinrichs
What exactly is finning?
“Finning” is a brutal practice used in fishing on the high seas. Sometimes the sharks are hunted selectively, but increasingly Finning is being practiced with the “unwanted by-catch” of tuna and swordfish fishing. Immediately after catching the sharks all the fins are cut off and the remaining carcasses thrown back into the sea. The sharks are usually fully conscious, and no longer able to swim, so they sink to the seabed where they bleed to death or suffocate.
Finning is an unselective fishing method that does not take into account the species, size or age of the shark. Due to this “space-saving” method on board, significantly more fins can be stored than when the whole shark body is transported which saves money.
The current Fins Naturally Attached Regulation states: “Sharks are not a traditional European food, but they are a necessary element of European marine ecosystems”. It is time to finally take consistent action in Europe to protect sharks and our oceans! Therefore, we ask you to support this opportunity to extend legislation in the European Union to protect our sea
What is so special about these fins?
There is a mistaken belief that certain powers can be transferred to humans through the consumption of shark meat. The fins of sharks are considered a high-profile ingredient in shark fin soup. It is considered a delicacy at Asian weddings, company parties and birthdays and can cost up to several hundred euros per bowl. The fin is cartilage tissue and thus completely tasteless, and is “improved” with chicken broth.
Shark fins are also used in traditional Asian medicine. Shark cartilage is seen as a miracle cure for potency disorders and cancer, which is why shark fins are still in demand in traditional Asian pharmacies.
In contrast, scientific facts drawn from numerous studies have verified that shark meat is heavily contaminated with methylmercury. Methylmercury, even in small doses, can be dangerous for humans, which is why consumption is strongly discouraged not only for ecological but also for health reasons.
The vast majority of shark fins are destined for a relatively small number of regions in East and Southeast Asia, such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Over 50% of the world’s shark fin trade passes through Hong Kong, but since 2011/2012 there has been a sharp drop in shark fin imports. The reasons for this are probably a decline in demand and the decimation of shark populations!!
Why are sharks important?
Sharks are apex predators, meaning they sit on the top of the food web. They play a crucial role in helping to maintain a delicately balanced ecosystem that keeps our oceans healthy. Their feeding helps to regulate prey population numbers, but also prey distribution as they select a habitat to avoid being eaten. For example, a study in Australia found that as shark numbers declined, mid-level predators like snappers increased while herbivorous fish populations shrank. With fewer algae-eating fish around, the algae overwhelmed the reef system and limited its ability to bounce back from bleaching and other disturbances.
Apart from keeping the food web in check and making sure we have populations of fish, sharks also boost local tourism, keep the carbon cycle in check by holding carbon and could hold the cure to many diseases.
But how can this happen in Europe?
The EU regulation banning finning on fishing vessels in 2013 led to a change in the fishing industry. Until now, fishing vessels could save cargo space by cutting sharks’ fins and throwing their bodies overboard. This left more space for more valuable species such as swordfish and tuna. Now the sharks had to be landed. For a short time, the fishing volume for blue sharks decreased (2013: 44703t in the Atlantic). In 2016, the last year evaluated, the figure was 53,000 tons again. What has happened? In addition to the lucrative business with the fins, shark meat from the blue shark was now also on the market, for which there had previously been no interest. But the fishing in Europe is not only limited to Blue sharks. Other species continue to be fished as well. In 2018, European ships landed 6,018 tons of the endangered Shortfin Mako in the Atlantic Ocean. In the Mediterranean, the WWF recently found that more than half of the shark species found there are endangered.
One of the reasons: Overfishing.
But the “fins naturally on the body” regulation of the EU should actually protect the sharks from being hunted for their fins. Unfortunately, it is often not even possible to determine whether fins or shark meat is being handled: In many countries around the world, including the EU, there is no indication of whether a cargo is an unprocessed or processed part of the fish, such as fins. This makes it particularly difficult to trace which parts are transported where. Another area of uncertainty is the control figures. For the Spanish longline fleet, an independent observer rate of only 1-3% is recorded on fishing vessels. Whether really all the sharks caught are landed, as stipulated in the EU regulation, can therefore only be confirmed for these vessels.
If shark protection in Europe is to have a chance, trade in shark fins from Europe must therefore be prevented in a really effective way. That is why we are demanding: The fins must remain on the shark at all times – even when being exported!
THERE IS HOPE!!! - Stop Finning EU
Stop Finning EU is a volunteer organisation set up to spread awareness about shark finning and to encourage sigantures for its Citizens’ Initative. I worked on the media team for Stop Finning EU, working with passionate and like minded people all over Europe on this cause! Please get in touch if you would like to join us :)
What is a Citizens Initative?
The European Citizens’ Initiative is the direct way to propose a concrete legislative change to the European Commission, as opposed to a petition decided by the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament. As of 2012, EU citizens have had the right to apply directly to the European Commission with a European Citizens’ Initiative in order to propose a concrete legislative amendment. To do this, a citizens’ committee must first be set up, consisting of at least seven members* from at least seven different EU countries. After successful assessment of the initiative by the European Commission, the Citizens’ Committee has one year to collect signatures.
The Citizens Initiative needs one million signatures from across Europe and so far, we have 273,763 signatures. This is split between EU populations depending on country population size. We need approximately 8,000 signatures from Irish citizens for this initiative to pass in the European Commission and so far, we have just under 30% of the required signatures in Ireland.
What can you do?
Please visit https://www.stop-finning-eu.org/ to sign the petitions.
Share the petition on instagram, facebook, with your friends, family & collegues!
If have any spare time and would like to join a dedicated team of volunteers spreading the word about this campaign, get in touch with myself or Stop Finning EU directly, and we can organise an onboarding session to get you started.
Other resources:
Visit Shark Guardian: https://www.sharkguardian.org/
This UK-based charity led the hugely successful Finspire Change Campaign to petition to ban shark fin importation into the UK - currently, a loophole in the law allows citizens to bring in 20kg of shark fin!
