Are there laws against shark finning?
• Each country with a coastline is responsible for laws and regulations pertaining to fishing in their waters. • A number of countries have shark-finning legislation. Many stipulate that fins must arrive in a 5 per cent weight ratio of the shark carcasses onboard. Only a few countries demand that sharks arrive in port with fins attached. • According to the IUCN Shark Specialist group, the easiest way to implement a ban is to require that shark carcasses be landed with fins attached. The possession of fins alone on vessels would thus be illegal. • Shark finning violates the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. • Shark finning is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s International Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. • The United Nations Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) lists the whale shark, basking shark, and great white shark as species that coul
