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The Chilean National Congress has passed a bill that bans shark finning in Chile after being approved by 24 in favor and 0 against.
The bill – drafted and promoted by Oceana – began its discussion process in Congress last January aiming to protect sharks through the prohibition of finning which consists of cutting the sharks’ fins and then throwing the carcass back into the ocean.
"With the passage of this law, Chile becomes a leader in the protection of these animals that are so important to marine ecosystems. We knew that large quantities of shark fins were being exported from our country. This practice meant the deaths of thousands of sharks each year. With this new law we will have a critical tool to protect and recover these most exploited species", said Alex Muñoz, Oceana Vice President for South America.
This bill was sponsored by 5 Senators led by Senator Antonio Horvath, who presented the report in front of the Senate Chamber and called upon the senators to approve the bill.
In Chile, of the 30 shark species captured in the country’s fisheries, at least 15 of them are subject to finning, with Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) and Shortfin Mako sharks (Isurus oxyrhinchus) as the main impacted species.
After a request to access public information made by Oceana to the National Customs Bureau, it was revealed that between 2006 and 2009, more than 71 tons of dry fins, corresponding to eight different species, were exported from Chile.
With the approval of this bill shark finning is banned; it is obligatory to land sharks with all their fins naturally attached to their body; and the presence on-board a vessel, the transport or transfer of loose shark fins from one to vessel to another is prohibited.
Worldwide, shark finning is responsible for 90 per cent of population declines, due among other reasons, to increasing exports to Asian countries (mainly China) for culinary purposes.
This decline has severe effects on marine ecosystems because sharks are top predators and therefore play a key role in maintaining trophic balance and biodiversity.
In fact, their removal could destabilize the trophic chain and result in many negative ecological impacts in the structures and functions of marine ecosystems and communities. Unfortunately, sharks are highly vulnerable to overfishing and require many decades to recover.
Compared with other fish, sharks grow slowly, reach sexual maturity late in their life, live a long time, and have long gestation periods and low reproductive rates.
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