Saving Sharks

 

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Please sign the new federal C380 petition which stops the global practice of shark finning and to ensure the responsible conservation and management of sharks and ban the importation of shark fins into Canada. Please stop by Red Fish Blue Fish to sign this important petition that affects the environment & our oceans! Please contact me @ 705-874-3300 or 705-772-4931 for more info or if you would like to get involved and help the campaign! Shark fining affects us all even in Peterborough!

Education - Shark Finning Facts

What is Shark Finning?

  • Shark finning refers to the removal and retention of shark fins and the discard at sea of the carcass. The shark is most often still alive when it is tossed back into the water. Unable to swim, the shark slowly sinks toward the bottom where it is eaten alive by other fish.

  • Shark finning takes place at sea so the fishers have only the fins to transport. Shark meat is considered low value and therefore not worth the cost of transporting the bulky shark bodies to market.

  • Any shark is taken-regardless of age, size, or species.

  • Longlines, used in shark finning operations, are the most significant cause of losses in shark populations worldwide.

  • Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored.

  • Shark finning has increased over the past decade due to the increasing demand for shark fins (for shark fin soup and traditional cures), improved fishing technology, and improved market economics.

  • Shark specialists estimate that 100 million sharks are killed for their fins, annually.

  • One pound of dried shark fin can retail for $300 or more. It's a multi-billion dollar industry.

Impacts of Shark Finning

  • Loss and devastation of shark populations around the world. Experts estimate that within a decade, most species of sharks will be lost because of longlining.

  • Unsustainable fishery. The massive quantity of sharks harvested and lack of selection deplete shark populations faster than their reproductive abilities can replenish populations.

  • Threatens the stability of marine ecosystems.

  • Loss of sharks as a food staple for many developing countries.

  • Local waters are invaded by large industrial, foreign fishing vessels that threaten traditional sustainable fisheries.

  • Threatens socio-economically important recreational fisheries.

  • Obstructs the collection of species-specific data that are essential for monitoring catches and implementing sustainable fisheries management.

  • Wasteful of protein and other shark-based products. Up to 99 per cent of the shark is thrown away.

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 could become threatened if trade is not controlled. To date, 169 countries have agreed to be legally bound by CITES.

Websites about sharks and shark finning:

Sources:

IUCN Shark Specialist Group. "IUCN Information Paper. Shark Finning." 2003.

IUCN Shark Specialist Group. "Shark Specialist Group Finning Statement."

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - www.seashepherd.org. "Longline Fishing."

WildAid & Co-Habitat. "Shark Finning." September 2003.

HELP SAVE OUR OCEANS AND OUR HEALTH

  • Sharks have existed for over 400 million years, have survived 5 major extinctions and pre-date the dinosaurs by 150 million years

  • As apex predators at the top of marine ecosystems, sharks control the populations of marine life below them on the food chain, right down to tiny plants called Phytoplankton: the greatest consumer of carbon dioxide on our planet, providing more than half of the oxygen we breathe.

  • Shark meat and shark fin contain mercury and other toxins; some fins have been found to contain over 40 times the permissible limit of mercury for human consumption.

  • Sharks can accumulate levels of methyl-mercury in their flesh that are so high that a single shark steak can cause mercury poisoning, leading to sterility, deafness, memory loss, nervous system issues and birth defects including blindness for those who consume it. Source: Health Canada

  • SeaChoice, Canada’s most comprehensive sustainable seafood program which helps Canadians take an active role in supporting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture at all levels of the seafood supply chain, strongly advises to avoid eating shark, from all regions, at all times