What is Shark Finning?

Shark finning refers to the act of slicing the fins off a shark at sea, often whilst the shark is still alive subsequently discarding the rest of the body at sea. The still live sharks then sink to the ocean floor and either suffocate or bleed to death. A shark’s carcass is thrown overboard as it has far less monetary value than its fins, carcasses use up storage space on boats so taking only the fins means more money for fishermen.

It is important to note that the term ‘shark’ refers to all elasmobranch species including rays. Rhinorays, such as guitarfish and the striking sawfish, secure some of the highest fin prices so a ban on transporting fins must apply to all elasmobranch species.

Blue sharks are the most commonly killed shark for the fin trade, comprising 17%. Other species include, but are not limited to, shortfin makos, silky sharks, sandbars, bull sharks, hammerhead and threshers. Whale sharks and leopard sharks are also highly sought after due to the size and patterning of their fins.

Why are sharks so important?

The act of finning a live shark has to be one of the worst acts of animal cruelty in recent times. Studies estimate between 63 and 273 million sharks are killed annually, the mass cruelty alone is a huge moral and ethical dilemma. Sharks are apex predators and keystone species, by removing them from the environment, through overfishing and finning, a cascade of trophic level collapse is triggered in an already fragile ecosystem.

• A decline in shark populations can cause degradation in reef ecosystems and drastic population declines in species used for fishing or tourism. A study published in June 2020 revealed that sharks had disappeared from 20% of the reefs studied in 58 nations.

• Sharks remove the weak, dying, or dead members of populations contributing to improved genetic and physical health in the remaining prey population.

• Sharks have slow growth rates, low fertility rate, and late sexual maturity, meaning populations take much longer to recover than other fish stocks.

• Sharks lack protection from overfishing and the finning industry, this equates to high vulnerability and sensitivity to the impacts of humans.

• +100 species of sharks and rays are listed by the IUCN as threatened with extinction, only 46 of these are protected from illegal trade by CITES.

• Oceanic shark and ray populations have declined by 71% since the 1970s. Read more about this landmark paper here.

• Sharks affect climate change and they can be a part of the solution.

Why are sharks being killed?

Souvenirs, cosmetics and pharmaceutical ingredients, and meat for animal consumption, used in both pet food and cattle feed, all play minor roles in why sharks are being killed. But fuelling the shark fishing industry is the demand for meat for human consumption, sold commonly as flake, and fins for the prestigious SE Asian dish, shark fin soup. This dish was once a status symbol of luxury and affluence, served on special occasions such as weddings and banquets but is becoming more and more available to the general public.

China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan are the main consumers of shark fin soup, however, China’s consumption has drastically decreased in recent years thanks to conservation organisations campaigning. It can work! Shark fin soup has even been banned at all government functions. China’s decrease in consumption is sadly offset by expanding and emerging markets in Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand – so a push for airlines to stop fin transportation is vital for protecting sharks.

Shark fins provide only texture to the infamous soup, no taste nor nutritional value. A pound of dried shark fin can sell for up to $400, and a bowl of shark fin soup is worth $50-$200. The fins of critically endangered rhinorays can fetch nearly US$1,000/kg.

Shark meat and fins are incredibly toxic as pollutants, like lead, mercury and arsenic biomagnify (meaning they increase the higher the trophic level). Some shark meats have recorded levels of quantities higher than that considered ‘safe’ for human consumption. Other pollutants found in shark meat, such as the neurotoxin BPAA, have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS.

In summary, the shark finning industry is terrible for sharks, our own health, and the health of the ocean.

 

What is the Fins Naturally Attached (FNA) Policy?

You may hear that shark finning is banned in many places around the world, including the UK and EU, however what is meant by this is that either a fin:carcass ratio or a ‘fins naturally attached’ policy is in place.

The former means that there can be only a limited number of fins on board correlating to the number of shark bodies on board, while the latter means that fins can’t be cut off at sea at all and sharks have to be landed with their fins still naturally attached to their bodies, this limits the number of sharks a vessel can kill as entire sharks take up limited storage space.

Ecologically this helps as, theoretically, fewer sharks are killed each fishing trip. However, it does not regulate the import, export and trade of the fins within countries’ borders and there are many loopholes. If fins (not attached to a carcass) arrive at ports on non-fishing vessels they are exempt from the policy as they are regarded as imports.

Many countries issue permits allowing fleets to continue cutting off fins on board despite the fins attached policies being in place, as long as the fleets operate a fin:carcass weight ratio, usually around 5%. These permits are regularly contested as their regulation is complicated, with the fin:carcass ratio described widely as an inadequate tool for preventing finning. This is due to differences in fin cutting techniques and variability among shark species’ fin sizes and values.

Vague and inadequate wording in policy writing is often exploited, with lack of necessary details such as whether the ratio applies to wet (fresh) or dried fins and whether the carcass is dressed (head and guts still attached) or undressed (head and guts removed, usually thrown overboard).

These variables make a huge difference to the weight of catches therefore a weight-based ratio is almost impossible to enforce. The removal of fins during processing on land is not considered shark finning, and countries operating a FNA policy continue to perpetuate the shark finning trade even though they have “banned shark finning”. Both strategies are almost impossible to enforce due to the lack of surveillance of fishing activities when at sea.

 

This is why campaigns such as Fly Without Fins, Finspire Change UK, and Stop Finning EU are so important.

UK RESIDENTS: Support a ban on the trade of shark fins in the UK by writing to your MP. The Finspire Change UK campaign gathered over 115,000 signatures and now needs YOUR MPs support to implement relevant legislation. Shark Guardian makes it super easy to do here.

EU RESIDENTS: Vote to ban the shark fin trade throughout the EU here by supporting Stop Finning EU.

US RESIDENTS: Find out about the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2019 (H.R.737, S.877) which is the proposed nation-wide shark fin ban for the US here.