Environment
MEPs for Sharkfin Ban
MEPs call for the strong political consensus for shark finning ban by the majority
of Members of the European Parliament in regard to the Commission declaration
calling upon its protection as vulnerable species. The proposal constitutes the
EU executive’s specific response to the declaration: Parliament can do no other
than give the proposal its full support.
Fish in the taxon Elasmobranchii, which includes sharks, skates and rays,
have specific biological
characteristics which make them particularly vulnerable to unregulated
intensive fishing. Their low reproduction potential, slow growth and slow
population recovery rate are due to their reaching sexual maturity at an
extremely late date: the male shortfin mako shark, for example, only becomes
sexually mature at 7-9 years old, and the female at the age of 19-21.
Furthermore, this species only reproduces every 3 years and the gestation period
lasts 15/18 months, which restricts the number of young born.
The
species fished the most are the blue shark (Prionace glauca), which
comprises 1.8 % of the EU catch, and the shortfin mako (Isurus
oxirinchus), comprising 10 %. The IUCN classes the shortfin mako as a
vulnerable species and the blue shark as ‘near threatened’ in the world and
‘vulnerable’ in the Mediterranean.
Faced with the declining stocks in these species, the
United States, eight Central American countries, Taiwan, Germany and the United
Kingdom have already decided that finning on board fishing vessels will not be
permitted any longer.
The EU has the second-highest shark catch globally:
according to FAO Fishstat, in 2009 EU Member States recorded landings of
111 916 tonnes of ray, skate and shark, which equates to 16 % of
landings worldwide.
The European Union is one of the biggest exporters of
shark fins to Hong Kong and China, and this trade is one of the most profitable
in the fishing sector: the fins are, in fact, the main ingredient in the much
sought-after Chinese soup.
The
rapporteur Maris do Ceu Patrao Neves strongly supports the Commission’s
proposal. The naturally attached fins method is the only valid way of
restricting finning and ensuring that compliance with the regulation is
controlled in a simple, effective manner that is not burdensome for Member
States. The amendments tabled are intended therefore to clarify and strengthen
the regulation.
In is
crucial to state that inspections are to be extended to cover the whole scope
of the regulation, meaning it is not just fishing vessels flying the flag of a
Member State that are affected but also all fishing vessels in the Union’s
maritime waters. Japanese longliners, for example, quite often land shark fins
in the port of Vigo, Galicia.
In view of the serious lack of scientific data on
these species, the information on shark landings given to the Commission by
Member States in their annual reports should be more detailed and include the
name of the species caught, the number caught, the total weight per species and
the fishing ground. This information can then be used to set up the
scientifically reliable databanks needed to implement follow-up measures for
the Community Action Plan on the Conservation and sustainable Management of
Sharks.
The standard of the controls carried out should also
be monitored more thoroughly, in order to provide the Commission with more
precise and fuller information on the inspections and penalties imposed in the
different Member States.
It should be stated plainly in the body of the
regulation as well that all fishing vessels are required to land sharks with
their fins naturally attached, something that is only implied at present.
Anna van Densky
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