This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2022)
NOAA agent counting confiscated shark finsShark fins on display in a pharmacy in Yokohama, Japan
Shark finning is the act of removing fins from sharks and discarding the rest of the shark back into the ocean. This act is prohibited in many countries.[1] The sharks are often still alive when discarded, but without their fins.[2][3][4] Unable to swim effectively, they sink to the bottom of the ocean and die of suffocation or are eaten by other predators. Shark finning at sea enables fishing vessels to increase profitability and increase the number of sharks harvested, as they must only store and transport the fins, by far the most profitable part of the shark; the shark meat is bulky to transport.[5] Many countries have banned this practice and require the whole shark to be brought back to port before removing the fins.
Shark finning increased since 1997 largely due to the increasing demand for shark fins for shark fin soup and traditional cures, particularly in China and its territories, as a consequence of its economic growth, and as a result of improved fishing technology and market economics.[6] Shark fin soup substitutes have lately also appeared on the market which do not require any shark fins.[7][8]
The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Shark Specialist Group say that shark finning is widespread, and that "the rapidly expanding and largely unregulated shark fin trade represents one of the most serious threats to shark populations worldwide".[9] Estimates of the global value of the shark fin trade range from US$540 million[5] to US$1.2 billion (2007).[10] Shark fins are among the most expensive seafood products, commonly retailing at US$400 per kg.[9] In the United States, where finning is prohibited, some buyers regard the whale shark and the basking shark as trophy species, and pay $10,000 to $20,000 for a fin.[11]
The regulated global catch of sharks reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been stable in recent years at an annual average just over 500,000 tonnes. Additional unregulated and unreported catches are thought to be common.[12][13]
Shark finning has caused catastrophic harm to the marine ecosystem.[14] Roughly 73 to 100 million sharks are killed each year by finning.[14][15] A variety of shark species are threatened by shark finning, including the critically endangered scalloped hammerhead shark.[15]
^Dell’Apa, Andrea; Chad Smith, M.; Kaneshiro-Pineiro, Mahealani Y. (1 August 2014). "The Influence of Culture on the International Management of Shark Finning". Environmental Management. 54 (2): 151–161. Bibcode:2014EnMan..54..151D. doi:10.1007/s00267-014-0291-1. ISSN 1432-1009. PMID 24828065. S2CID 30437872.
^Schindler, D.E., Essington, T.E., Kitchell, J.F., Boggs, C. and Hilborn, R. (2002) "Sharks and tunas: fisheries impacts on predators with contrasting life histories". Ecological Applications, 12 (3): 735–748. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2002)012[0735:SATFIO2.0.CO;2]
^Spiegel, J. (2000) "Even Jaws deserves to keep his fins: outlawing shark finning throughout global waters". Boston College International and Comparative Law Review, 24 (2): 409–438.
^Fowler, S., Séret, B. and Clarke, S. (2010) Shark fins in Europe: Implications for reforming the EU finning ban Archived 13 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine, IUCN Shark Specialist Group.
^ abClarke, Shelley; Milner-Gulland, E.J.; Bjorndal, Trond (October 2007). "Social, Economic, and Regulatory Drivers of the Shark Fin Trade". Marine Resource Economics. 22 (3): 305–327. doi:10.1086/mre.22.3.42629561. S2CID 151222229. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^Urbina, Ian (2016). "Palau vs. Poachers". The New York Times.
^Wu, Leslie. "Faux Fins And Mock Meat: Is Clean Meat The Answer To Reforming Shark Fin And Foie Gras?". Forbes.
^"Faux Fin". The Future Market.
^ abBuckley, Louis (2007). The End of the Line(PDF). WildAid. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2011.
^Cite error: The named reference York2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^
Bijal P. Trivedi (17 September 2002). "Shark-Soup Boom Spurs Conservationist DNA Study". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 18 September 2002. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014 Page 17 and 124, FAO, Rome. ISBN 978-92-5-108275-1.
^"Colombia seizes nearly 3,500 shark fins bound for Hong Kong". CNN. Reuters. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
^ abKer Than (26 September 2006). "Shark Slaughter: 73 Million Killed Each Year". Live Science. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
Sharkfinning is the act of removing fins from sharks and discarding the rest of the shark back into the ocean. This act is prohibited in many countries...
caused by the sharkfinning practice. Traditional sharkfin soup or stew is made with fins obtained from a variety of shark species. Raw fins are processed...
Sharks are often killed for sharkfin soup. Fishermen capture live sharks, fin them, and dump the finless animal back into the water. Sharkfinning involves...
Antarctica SharkFin Glacier, a glacier near the Antarctic peak Sharkfinning This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Sharkfin. If...
availability of sharkfin soup worldwide. Sharkfinning is prohibited in many countries. Foil shaped fins generate thrust when moved, the lift of the fin sets water...
Harvesting sharks before they reproduce has severe impacts on future populations. Many nations restrict shark catches and sharkfinning. Palau created...
shark liver oil), skin (for shagreen) and fins (for use in delicacies such as shark-fin soup). Despite being active predatory fish, thresher sharks do...
year by fishing vessels. Sharkfinning is the act of removing fins from sharks and discarding the rest of the shark. The sharks are often still alive when...
schemes have yet been implemented under this agreement. The banning of sharkfinning by countries and supranational entities such as United States, Australia...
nationality or culture". Sharkfinning is a worldwide issue that involves cutting off the fins of sharks. This is done while the shark is still alive followed...
The SharkFinning Prohibition Act was signed into law by Bill Clinton on December 21, 2000. It had forbidden finning by any vessels in the U.S. Exclusive...
basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three plankton-eating shark species...
the fins and toss the remainder of the fish, which is often still alive, back into the sea. This practice, known as finning, is lethal to the shark. The...
also known as the ruby shark, red-finshark, red-finnedshark, rainbow sharkminnow, green fringelip labeo, whitefin shark and whitetail sharkminnow. It is...
unproven and disproven cancer treatments Sharkfinning Ostrander GK; Cheng KC; Wolf JC; Wolfe MJ (December 2004). "Shark cartilage, cancer and the growing threat...
is considered a near threatened species because of finning and fishing by humans. The tiger shark is second only to the great white in recorded fatal...
tourists and through funds raised by the shark tourism industry. Communities that previously relied on sharkfinning to make their livelihoods are able to...
main ingredients and twelve condiments. Use of sharkfin, which is sometimes harvested by sharkfinning, and abalone, which is implicated in destructive...
Drivers of the shark trade Land-based shark fishing – fishing for sharks from land such as a beach, shoreline, jetty, pier, or bridge Sharkfinning – the removal...
of sharkfins, with some exceptions. The intent of the law is to discourage sharkfinning, a practice which involves cutting off the tails and fins of...
legislation addressing sharkfinning, the SharkFinning Prohibition Act (SFPA), signed into law by Bill Clinton. It outlawed any finning by any vessels in...
this shark'sfins. Other common names used for the blacktip shark include blackfin shark, blacktip whaler, common or small blacktip shark, grey shark, and...
Global Information
