EU shark finning ban proposed

A blanket ban on shark finning in EU waters has been proposed by the European Union executive.

The trade in shark finning is booming, thanks to a taste for the blubbery meat in Chinese cuisine.

Fins are often cut off the animal while the shark is still alive, before the carcass is thrown back into the sea.

The European Commission’s latest proposal is a ban on all shark finning in EU waters. And all EU-registered vessels would be forbidden from finning, wherever they’re operating, worldwide.

Currently shark fishermen have exploited a loophole allowing shark carcasses and fins to be landed at different ports.

New laws would allow a quota of sharks to be caught with their fins still attached, although cutting them for storage purposes would still be permitted.

Surprisingly, EU fishermen are some of the largest shark-catchers, bested only by Indian fishermen. According to figures from 2009, 110,000 tonnes of shark was landed by EU boats, of which half again was landed via Spanish fisheries.

And this gruesome trade shows no signs of stopping, thanks to booming Chinese demand for Shark Fin Soup.