Europe moves closer to blanket ban on shark finning

Barbara Lewis PlanetArk 23 Nov 12;

The European parliament backed a blanket ban on shark finning, in which the fins are sliced off sharks, often while they are alive, and their carcasses dumped in the sea.

A surge in demand for shark fins, mostly for soup in Asia, has threatened various species of the predators, which have a vital role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems.

The ban, proposed a year ago by the European Commission, would forbid shark finning by all vessels in EU waters and by all EU-registered vessels operating anywhere in the world.

About one-third of all shark species are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Sharks are particularly vulnerable to over-fishing because of their slow growth rate and small number of young.

The appetite for their fins, which can sell for up to 1,000 euros ($1,300) each, is greatest in China, where they are the main ingredient of shark fin soup.

Thursday's European Parliament vote is a strong signal, but needs to be matched by approval from member states to make the draft law definitive.

European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki welcomed the step and urged swift agreement on "a real ban to shark finning without any derogations".

The proposed law would close a loophole in EU rules, which as they stand ban finning, but allow fishermen with special permits to land shark bodies and their more valuable fins at different ports - provided they comply with a fin-to-carcass limit of 5 percent.

Shark conservation groups have campaigned for years against the EU ratio, saying it is among the most lenient globally and allows European fishermen to dump large numbers of finned carcasses at sea each year.

Spain and Portugal are the only EU member states still issuing the finning permits.

Thursday's vote was "definitely a very positive step", said Sandrine Polti, policy adviser to the Shark Alliance, adding the group would continue to campaign for better management of depleted shark stocks.

Under the proposals, fishermen would have to land all sharks with their fins attached, although they would be allowed to slice partly through each fin and fold it against the carcass, to facilitate storage and handling.

(Editing by Rex Merrifield and Jon Hemming)

MEPs vote to close 'shark finning' loopholes
Mark Kinver BBC News 22 Nov 12;

MEPs have voted to close loopholes that allowed some EU fishing vessels to continue "shark finning".

Although the EU banned removing shark fins at sea and discarding the body, special permits allowed finning to continue legally.

Conservation groups, which say finning was threatening shark numbers, welcomed the European Parliament's decision.

The decision to back the European Commission's proposals will now be considered by EU fisheries ministers.

The resolution was adopted with 566 votes in favour, 47 against and 16 abstentions.

"Parliament's vote represents a major milestone in the global effort to end the wasteful practice," said Sandrine Polti, EU shark policy adviser for the Pew Environmental Group and the Shark Alliance.

"[We have] been working towards this and other fundamental reforms in European shark policies for more than six years and are thrilled with today's vote and the progress we expect to stem from it."

Dr Joanna Swabe, EU director for Humane Society International (HSI), said she was delighted that MEPs had decided not to support the argument to retain the special permits.

"This would have been disastrous for shark protection not just in EU waters but worldwide," she said.

"HSI commends the European Parliament for defending sharks against the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning."

Shark finning is driven by the fact that the animals' fins are highly valuable in comparison with shark carcasses.

As severed fins could be easily stored, it made economic sense for fishing vessels to remove the fins at sea, rather than bringing the entire animal - which would quickly fill a vessel's cold storage areas - into port.

It is estimated that fins can sell for between 16 and 70 euros (£13- £56; US$20-90) per kilogramme in Asia.

The EU's global catch of sharks ranks second only to Indonesia, yet the European Commission has committed itself - under the EU Action Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks - to adopt the necessary measures to conserve shark species and to minimise waste and discards from shark catches.

Finning is also deemed cruel because the fins are often removed while the animal is still alive - it then drowns when it is thrown back into the sea.

Conservationists argued that the issuing of Special Fishing Permits (SFPs) that allowed fins to be removed at sea prevented the EU ban, introduced in 2003, from becoming fully effective.

According to European Parliament data, the largest number of SFPs issued to date were to Spanish and Portuguese vessels (1266 and 145 respectively, between 2004 and 2010).

It added that until 2009, the UK, Germany and Lithuania had also issued SFPs.

Ms Polti observed: "Shark Alliance member groups look forward to continued co-operation in shepherding and promoting a final 'fins-attached' rule and in securing complementary safeguards, such as domestic and international catch limits, to fully address the overexploitation of sharks."