Sharks have been feared hunters ever since people first observed them swimming in the vast ocean. Yet today, sharks are declining rapidly on a global scale because humans have replaced them as the ocean's top predators. One way that humans hunt sharks is by using a practice called shark finning.
This is the process of slicing off a shark's fin and discarding the rest of the still. Although more shark bodies are retained, much of the financial incentive is driven by the shark fin trade. Shark finning is a fishing practice where sharks are caught and their fins are sliced off, then the body of the shark is discarded, alive or dead.
Facts about the practice of shark finning and how it is destroying shark populations globally and putting our oceanic ecosystems at grave risk. Shark Research Institute (SRI) conducts and sponsors rigorous field research about sharks and uses science-based information to educate and advocate for shark conservation policies and protections by the world's governing bodies, including CITES. Some shark species hold a higher value than others.
Pelagic species such as Oceanic White Tip Sharks and Silky Sharks are targeted for their highly prized fins in the global shark trade. The large fins of Whale Sharks and Basking Sharks are coveted as decorative items in restaurants. These species, tragically, rank among the most threatened.
NOAA agent counting confiscated shark fins Shark fins on display in a pharmacy in Yokohama, Japan Shark finning is the act of removing fins from sharks and discarding the rest of the shark back into the ocean. The sharks are often still alive when discarded, but without their fins. [1][2][3] Unable to swim effectively, they sink to the bottom of the ocean and die of suffocation or are eaten by.
In some regions, shark finning accounts for over 70% of shark mortality The use of shark fins in traditional Asian cuisine drives much of the demand, leading to unsustainable fishing practices The Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (CMS) has 40 member countries committed to shark conservation. Shark finning: illegal yet rampant, it fuels a multimillion. With true sharks harder to come by, rays (which can be thought of as sharks whose pectoral fins have transformed to "wings") and sawfishes are also being depleted for shark.
Shark finning is the practice of capturing a shark, removing its fins, and discarding the rest of the animal back into the ocean, often while it is still alive. Without their fins, sharks are unable to swim, leading to death by suffocation or predation. The demand for fins, primarily for shark fin soup, has driven this practice globally.
On average, between 76 and 80 million sharks are killed every year for their fins. Despite the fact that nearly 50 countries and territories and most international fisheries management organizations (called Regional Fishery Management Organizations, or RFMOs) have implemented full or partial shark finning bans, statistics indicate that finning is still on the rise. Shark finning is the.