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Shark finning is illegal in the EU |
CONSERVATION group Oceana is concerned that the European Parliament may support a proposal to encourage the illegal practice of shark finning in the European Union.
The international marine conservation organisation has released a report aimed at Euro MPs expressing its worries over a decision that will be taken in the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries on August 28 that could support the killing of millions of sharks each year.
Oceana calls on the EU and MEPs to strengthen European regulations for shark fisheries management and to close "major loopholes" within the shark finning regulation to ensure the ban is properly enforced.
Sharks play key roles as top ocean predators, they say, helping to maintain balance and biodiversity within ocean ecosystems. Unfortunately, they are increasingly threatened by overfishing, and their low fecundity and late age of maturity make their populations incapable of recovering at the same rate they are exploited. Roughly one-third of all of the sharks and related ray species in European waters assessed to date, nearly 40 species in all, are considered “threatened” by extinction according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
“Shark finning is an incredibly wasteful practice that threatens already overexploited shark populations. It consists of cutting off shark fins and tossing the dead or dying bodies back into the water, utilizing only 2%-5% of the animal and throwing away sources of protein and potential commercial or medicinal products,” stated Xavier Pastor, director of Oceana in Europe. Finning occurs because the fins, ultimately used in the Asian delicacy of shark fin soup, are often much more highly valued than the remaining body parts. In some cases prices can exceed 100 euros per kilo.
This "wasteful practice" has been rightfully banned in EU waters and vessels since 2003. However, a recent draft report by a Spanish socialist Euro MP, Rosa Miguélez Ramos, apparently reacting to pressure by her political constituency’s fisheries lobby, threatens to endorse illegal shark finning in EU waters.
The report attempts to play a numbers game with the European shark finning regulation. Specifically, it recommends increasing the legislated ratio of fin weight to body weight which is used to implement the finning ban. According to current legislation, vessels that use all parts of a shark’s body can obtain a special permit allowing them to capture sharks and remove their fins if it will lead to more efficient storing and processing on board. To avoid fraud, a ratio, based on the percentage that fins make up of the entire body weight, is used as a means of checking whether the amount of fins landed corresponds to the amount of carcasses landed. This ensures that finning, and the subsequent disposal of shark bodies, has not occurred.
www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.
www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.
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