Fins Naturally Attached

Today many shark populations are experiencing a downward spiral of reduced populations due to increasing fishing pressure and increasing prices. However due to the covert nature of the fin trade, fins originating from illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fisheries means that we have likely underestimated the effect on global shark populations

The Shark Trust opposes shark finning for the following reasons:

1. A live shark represents a danger on a fishing boat - many sharks are still alive when their fins are cut off and are then thrown back into the sea to die.

2. Finning is hugely wasteful - wet fins typically represent less than 5% of a shark’s body weight.

3. Most sharks are top predators and therefore play a key role in marine ecosystems by keeping their prey populations in check. Removing this control is likely to have a damaging effect on marine ecosystems.

4. Today many shark populations are experiencing a downward spiral of reduced populations due to increasing fishing pressure and increasing prices. However due to the covert nature of the fin trade, fins originating from illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fisheries means that we have likely underestimated the effect on global shark populations.

The Shark Trust believes Fins Naturally Attached (FNA) is the only route to securing an enforceable ban on shark finning activities, whilst enabling the collection of species-specific management data. The potential challenge of handling sharks with FNA is an issue raised by the commercial industry, which deem it potentially dangerous to have frozen sharks with fins jutting out from their carcasses. A solution to this would be to partially cut fins and fold them against the carcass, creating a more manageable unit for fishers to handle.


 
The key part of any regulation is the ease of which it can be enforced, and with FNA noncompliance is evident – any fin removed from a carcass whilst at sea would be illegal.

The Shark Trust will continue to campaign both in Europe and within the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO) for the adoption of FNA as the basis of wider sustainable shark management measures.

➤ Join the campaign and stop the unsustainable trade in shark fins.

➤ Download our Shark Finning Factsheet (pdf).