Discover Stop Finning, the European citizens’ initiative aimed at collecting as many signatures as possible to ban the trade of shark fins in Europe. This initiative is supported by many organizations and associations in France such as Sharks Mission France, Shark Education, Ailerons, Apecs, Shark Citizen, and many others.Each year, between 63 and 273 million sharks die as a result of fishing. This is probably an underestimate, due to a lack of reliable data. Sharks are hunted worldwide, primarily for their fins. They are consumed in some Asian regions in the form of soup. Fins are often cut at sea while the animal is sometimes still alive. The rest of the shark is thrown overboard. Without fins, sharks sink to the bottom of the sea where they suffocate, bleed to death, or are eaten alive.
Since 2013, the storage, transshipment, and landing of shark fins in EU waters and on all EU vessels have been strictly prohibited. Fins must remain naturally attached to the carcass when the vessel is unloaded at the port. The fins can then be separated from the animal and exported to Asia. In 2016 alone, Spain officially landed 53,000 tonnes of blue shark, about 1.75 million animals. The total catch of blue sharks in the Atlantic has almost doubled since the beginning of the millennium. Moreover, other shark species, some of which are more threatened, like the shortfin mako shark, are hunted in Europe. On average, just under 3,500 tonnes of fins are exported from the EU each year.
There is still a huge volume of fins on the global market, the origin of which is rarely traceable. However, these can still be legally traded in Europe. This initiative calls for an immediate halt to the trade of shark fins in Europe! The regulation of ‘fins naturally attached’ in the European Union must be extended to the export, import, and transit of sharks and rays.
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Objectives of this initiative
The EU is a major player in shark exploitation, and given the scarcity of at-sea inspections, the illegal retention, transshipment, and landing of fins in the EU continue.
Stop Finning aims to end the trade of fins in the EU, including the import, export, and transit of fins that are not naturally attached to the animal’s body.
Since finning prevents the adoption of effective shark conservation measures, it is requested that Regulation (EU) No 605/2013 also cover the trade of fins, and thus this initiative invites the Commission to develop a new regulation that would extend the requirement for ‘fins naturally attached to the body’ to all shark and ray commercial exchanges in the EU.
The European Citizens’ Initiative
Since 2012, European citizens have had the right to address the European Commission directly via a European Citizens’ Initiative to propose a concrete legislative amendment.
To do this, a citizens’ committee must first be formed, composed of at least seven members from at least seven different EU countries. After the European Commission examines the initiative, the citizens’ committee has one year to collect signatures.