The following article (with the above title) is by WhySharksMatter, posted June 18th, 2012:
Shark finning, one of the most wasteful, unsustainable, and inhumane methods of gathering food in the history of human civilization, has rightly become a hot topic in the marine conservation movement. However, there is a great deal of confusion among activists concerning this problem and the best way to solve it.
Shark finning does not mean removing the fins from a shark. This is really important and seems to be a source of some confusion- not every shark fin for sale in markets is the result of shark finning! Shark finning means removing the fins from a shark while still on the fishing vessel and dumping the rest of the shark overboard. This is a problem because it’s wasteful (less than 10% of the weight of a shark is used), because it’s easy to quickly overfish a population even from a small boat (fins don’t take up a lot of space on board), and because it’s almost impossible for managers to know how many of each species were harvested. As stated above, this practice is also shockingly inhumane, as the sharks are often still alive when they are dumped overboard.
While shark finning is still legal in parts of the world (and practiced illegally in many other places), most developed countries have outlawed this practice. Some fishing nations regulate the fin trade by the use of “fin ratios,” which means that fins can be removed from shark bodies at sea as long as the bodies are brought to shore and the total weight of the landed fins doesn’t exceed a certain percentage of the weight of the landed bodies (typically 5%). There are a lot of problems with this management strategy, but it’s a lot better than finning because it is less wasteful and it allows managers to see what species have been harvested. The best possible shark fin fisheries management practice is landing sharks with “fins naturally attached” (as part of a comprehensive strategy that includes science-based fishing quotas, appropriate protections for threatened species, appropriate monitoring, reporting, and enforcement, bycatch mitigation strategies, etc.). After the sharks are landed “whole” and reported appropriately, the fins can be removed and sold.
In other words, if a shark carcass is brought to shore, even without fins attached, that shark has not been finned. If a shark carcass is brought to shore with its fins attached, as long as it isn’t a threatened species and it was caught according to a science-based quota, this situation is not only not something we should be criticizing, it is, in fact, that goal of responsible shark fisheries management.
This misconception is important in explaining why I (as well as many, many other scientists and natural resource managers) do not support “fin ban” legislation that makes it illegal to buy, sell, or possess shark fins regardless of where they came from. These bans do not allow for well-managed fisheries to supply the marketplace with fins, and they do absolutely nothing about other shark fishing issues. In contrast, a comprehensive shark fisheries management plan addresses all the shark fishing issues and allows for well-managed fisheries to supply the marketplace with fins.
Another important point about shark “fin bans” is that they do not address shark “finning” at all, despite what many supporters claim. Finning is largely illegal already in the areas which are considering fin bans. Almost all shark scientists and natural resource managers, including myself, are opposed to finning. If you are going to take the time to “spread awareness”, please first make sure that you understand the basics of the issues you are trying to educate others about. Increasing the level of confusion and misconception that’s already out there only makes things worse for the oceans, and demonizing responsible fishing practices can undo decades of progress made by those who do understand the issues.
