14 Dec 2016

Tuna Commission rejects anti-shark finning proposal

6:55 am on 14 December 2016

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, or the Tuna Commission, has rejected a proposal to strengthen rules that would help eliminate shark finning.

At the WCPFC's annual meeting, which ended in Nadi on the weekend, the WWF and other NGOs supported a European Union proposal to strengthen rules which would help eliminate finning.

According to a statement from the WWF, vessels may remove fins from the sharks and store them separately from the bodies on the way to port if the weight of the fins was not more than five per cent the weight of the carcasses.

The Fiji Times reports the proposal was dropped because of a lack of consensus.

"Justifications for using weight ratios as a measure to prevent finning are not supported by the science," said Ian Campbell, the WWF Shark and Ray Initiative Manager.

"Numerous studies have shown that using fin-to-carcass ratios is an inadequate tool to prevent finning because different shark species have different fin to body weight ratios," he said.

"This simplistic measure is made even more redundant as fishermen can make different types of cuts when removing the fins, which can change the ratio."

Greenpeace activists prepare to board illegal fishing vessel Shuen De Ching No 888. The Rainbow Warrior travels in the Pacific to expose out of control tuna fisheries. Tuna fishing has been linked to shark finning, overfishing and human rights abuses.
9 Sep, 2015

Greenpeace activists prepare to board illegal fishing vessel Shuen De Ching No 888. The Rainbow Warrior travels in the Pacific to expose out of control tuna fisheries. Tuna fishing has been linked to shark finning, overfishing and human rights abuses. Photo: Paul Hilton / Greenpeace