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For Immediate Release
International Ban on Shark Finning Adopted for Northwest Atlantic
Tallinn, Estonia -- Conservationists are heralding the latest in a series of international prohibitions on shark finning, adopted today by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). Finning – the practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the carcass – is driven by the lucrative market for "shark fin soup" and has sparked widespread public outcry. The proposal to ban the practice was co-sponsored by the United States and the European Union and drew vocal support from Korea, Ukraine, Canada, Norway and others. New measures, adopted by consensus, pertain primarily to international groundfish and shrimp trawl fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic. NAFO Parties also requested that their Scientific Council assess the status, catch and incidental take ("bycatch") of spiny and black dogfish in the region.
"This welcome NAFO action was fueled by long-awaited, global momentum to ban the wasteful practice of shark finning. Such measures represent key, first steps toward safeguarding some of the ocean’s most vulnerable animals," said Sonja Fordham, shark conservation specialist for The Ocean Conservancy who served on the U.S. delegation to the NAFO meeting. "We also applaud NAFO’s attention to the conservation status of often-disregarded yet exceptionally vulnerable dogfish sharks, and hope such investigations will progress as a matter of priority."
The NAFO finning ban was modeled after landmark agreements made by the Atlantic and Pacific international tuna commissions within the last year. NAFO Parties with domestic finning prohibitions include the United States, the European Union and Canada.
"The NAFO finning ban will ensure that ocean predators such as Greenland sharks, taken as bycatch in NAFO fisheries, are not killed for their fins, thereby helping to keep Northwest Atlantic ecosystems in balance," said Carroll Muffett, Senior Director for International Programs at Defenders of Wildlife. "The new measures will also bolster protections for the enormous, filter-feeding basking shark, listed in 2002 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species."
Sharks are especially vulnerable to overfishing because they grow slowly and produce few young. The World Conservation (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group (SSG) estimates that finning causes the death of tens of millions of sharks worldwide each year. The NAFO measures also call for research aimed at improving the selectivity of fishing gear selectivity and identifying areas used as shark nurseries.
"NAFO has taken a big step forward, but sharks remain in peril all over the world," added Charlotte Mogensen, European Fisheries Policy Officer for the World Wildlife Fund. "We urge all fishery management organizations to adopt not only finning bans, but requirements for shark data collection, bycatch reduction and sustainable catches. The success of the NAFO shark measures will hinge on effective enforcement, follow-up management and consistent measures in adjacent seas."
The United Nations has called on fishing nations to cooperate through regional bodies to manage fisheries for sharks as well as closely related skates and rays. Last year, NAFO became the first fishery management organization to adopt an international catch limit for these species through a fishing quota for thorny skates. There are still no international limits on shark catch.
NAFO members include Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland), the European Union, France (in respect of St. Pierre and Miquelon), Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Norway, Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States.
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