Shark Finning: A Cruel and Unsustainable Fishing Practice
What is Shark Finning?
- Shark finning is the practice of removing a shark’s fins and discarding the rest of its body back into the sea, often while the shark is still alive.
- Unable to swim, the shark eventually dies from suffocation, drowning, or predation.
- The practice is widely regarded as cruel, wasteful, and ecologically destructive.
Why is Shark Finning Carried Out?
- Shark fins fetch high prices in international markets.
- They are primarily exported to Asian countries for:
- Shark fin soup (a luxury delicacy).
- Traditional medicine.
Illegal Trade and Recent Concerns
- Reports have highlighted the landing of illegal shark fins at Dakar, Senegal, one of Africa’s busiest fishing ports.
- Longline tuna fishing vessels have been linked to the trade, raising concerns over illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Environmental Impact
- Global shark and ray populations have declined by approximately 71% since 1970, largely due to industrial overfishing.
- The loss of sharks threatens marine food webs, as sharks play a crucial role as apex predators in maintaining ocean ecosystem balance.
Associated Challenges
- Shark finning is frequently associated with:
- Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
- Weak fisheries governance.
- Human rights abuses within distant-water fishing fleets.
International Regulations
- The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) regulates tuna and tuna-like fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean.
- ICCAT prohibits the retention of certain shark species and currently limits the weight of shark fins onboard vessels to 5% of the dressed carcass weight as an anti-finning measure, although conservation groups argue that requiring sharks to be landed with fins naturally attached is a more effective enforcement mechanism.
Way Forward
- Strengthen enforcement against illegal shark fin trade.
- Mandate the landing of sharks with fins naturally attached.
- Improve monitoring and traceability of shark catches.
- Promote sustainable fisheries management and international cooperation.
- Increase public awareness to reduce demand for shark fin products.