Victory! Cruel Practice of Shark Finning Banned in New Zealand

Shark finning is the practice of removing a shark’s fins while they are fully conscious, and then tossing the dead or dying shark back into the sea. The fins are collected to make the Chinese delicacy shark fin soup, and the payouts of this cruelty are high — one pound of dried shark fin can sell for around $300 or more, reports Shark Water.

The New Zealand Herald reports that this week, “Dr. Smith and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy were on the coast to announce details of the draft National Plan of Action for Conservation and Management of Sharks. Banning shark finning was part of that proposal and it was welcomed by Conservation groups… it is lawful to catch a shark, kill it, remove its fins and dump the carcass at sea. Dr. Smith said it was that kind of waste that would be targeted under the proposal, which was out for public consultation until December.”

Labour’s Fisheries Spokesman Damien O’Connor reported, “In New Zealand, Conservation groups estimate 24,000 tonnes of sharks are caught in our waters. Most of the world’s sharks that are caught are thrown back with only 2 percent of the shark being used.”

New Zealand will join over 100 other countries and states (like the European Union) who have banned this senseless and wasteful practice, reports

For more information on shark fining that you can easily share with friends, check out our article, “7 Alarming Facts About the Shark Fin Trade.”

 Image Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr