Call to end shark finning
Multiple parties object to practice
CONSERVATION organisation Wildtrust has joined 57 signatory parties from academia, retail, fisheries, the NPO sector and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in signing an anti-shark finning letter in a bid to stop finning being tolerated and continuing within Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fisheries.
According to Wildtrust, shark finning is killing an estimated 100 million sharks annually.
This practice is mainly driven by a demand for a delicacy in the East known as shark fin soup. The soup is a symbol of prosperity and is traditionally served on special occasions such as weddings.
Dr Jean Harris of Wildtrust said: “From a conservation perspective we are very concerned about our sharks. Illegal fishing, bycatch and shark finning are depleting global shark populations at a dramatic rate, resulting in a large percentage of shark species being identified as threatened and endangered.”
The letter, driven by the international organisation “Sharkproject” and endorsed by Wildtrust, with its two programmes – Wildoceans and Wildlands, and other parties from across the globe – expressed concern with the conformity assessment bodies (CABs) for having failed in implementing the MSC standard linked to shark finning.
In the letter – addressed to the Marine Stewardship Council, Rupert Howes, their board of trustees as well as the Stakeholder Advisory Council – the signatories have asked that certification be revised to require that a “fins naturally attached” policy be put in place and complied with for a fishery to receive a measure of sustainability score of SG60, meaning it’s highly likely that no shark finning is taking place.
The parties felt that there was a lack of consistency in scoring, citing the Parties of the Nauru Agreement fishery, where there were at least 429 incidents of shark finning, and they were awarded a score of 80.
Meanwhile, the Tri-Marine fishery, where there were 21 reported incidents of shark finning, received a score of 75, indicating that it is likely that no shark finning is taking place.
“An additional problem is that illegal shark fisheries often simply cut the fin and throw the body back into the water, making it very difficult to determine whether it was an endangered shark or one that is sustainably harvested,” Harris said.
The MSC’s policy on shark finning states, in short, that the conformity assessment bodies should not certify or maintain the certification of a fishery when there is objective, verifiable evidence that indicates shark finning is taking place.
“The CABs have repeatedly made determinations on the likelihood of the existence of finning, despite noting a lack of data.
If finning, bycatch, and compliance data are unavailable or insufficient, CABs should be prohibited from certifying the fishery,” the letter states.
Wildtrust said MSC acknowledged receipt of the letter and have promised to come back to them within the MSC standard time lines.