The European Union & Shark Finning

The last few decades have seen a dramatic increase in shark finning, the practice of cutting off a shark's fins and dumping the carcass at sea. Although shark meat has historically embodied a small portion of global fisheries, the rising popularity of shark fin soup has resulted in devastating declines of shark populations around the world. Despite a law prohibiting shark finning in the European Union (EU), member countries make a significant contribution of shark fins in the global market and finning continues to be a problem in EU waters.

In 2003, the European Union passed a law intended to prohibit shark finning by European fishermen. After years of inadequate application and enforcement of the law, it has become clear that loopholes allowing a country to issue special permits for finning make the law ineffective. The 2003 law contains an exception to the general ban on finning that “the removal of fins from dead sharks on board may be allowed if the removal aims at a more efficient use of all shark parts by the separate processing on board of fins and of the remaining parts of the sharks.” Council Regulation (EC) No 1185/2003(June 26, 2003). This exception is allowed if the fishing vessels justify why separate processing must occur on board and obtain a special permit from their flag country. As a result of the exception, management authorities have difficulty knowing when finning has occurred because the special permits allow fishermen to remove shark fins while on board and land the fins and carcasses in separate ports.

The EU Fisheries Committee voted to delete the exceptions in September 2012 and Parliament as a whole will vote on the matter in 2013. If the vote passes Parliament as well, EU fishermen will be required to land sharks and unload them in port with their fins naturally attached. Conservationists hope the revamped law will have a positive effect on enforcement, fisheries data, and encourage other countries to adopt similar legislation protecting sharks from finning and over-fishing. 

Written for SIEL by:
Don Gourlie, 2L