Stop Finning - Stop the trade

 

Submission and examination

The ‘Stop Finning – Stop the trade’ initiative was submitted to the Commission on 11 January 2023, after having gathered 1,119,996 verified statements of support. See press announcement.

The organisers met with the European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová and the Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius on 6 February 2023. See press announcement and photos.

A public hearing took place at the European Parliament on 27 March 2023. See recording.

The initiative was debated at the European Parliament’s plenary session on 11 May 2023. See recording.

The Commission adopted a Communication on 5 July 2023 setting out its response to the initiative ‘Stop Finning – Stop the trade’. See press release.

Answer of the European Commission

 

Main conclusions of the Communication:

The Commission commits to:

● Start without delay preparatory work with a view to launch, by the end of 2023, an impact assessment on the environmental, social and economic consequences of applying the “fins naturally attached” policy to the placing on the EU market of sharks, whether within the EU or for international trade (imports and exports).

● By end 2024, provide more detailed EU’s import and export information to improve statistics on trade in shark products.

● Better enforce the EU’s already strong traceability measures by strengthening the enforcement of EU law that applies to the entire value chain - control of fishing at sea, full traceability of shark products from landing to consumer, consumer information, and prevention and redress of illegal trade - and ensuring the collection and reporting of complete and reliable information by fishermen and Member States’ authorities on all these aspects.

● Step up the EU’s international action: advocate for a worldwide ban of shark finning and strengthen the effective implementation of conservation and management measures for sharks’ species; encourage the reduction of demand for shark fins; and fight against shark fins trafficking.

 

On 13 July 2023, Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius met with the organisers of ‘Stop Finning - Stop the trade' to discuss the Commission’s reply to the initiative.

Follow-up

In the second half of 2023 the European Commission started working on an impact assessment on the environmental, social and economic consequences of applying the “fins naturally attached” policy to the placing on the EU market of sharks, whether within the EU or for international trade (imports and exports).

On 22 February 2024, the Commission published a call for evidence seeking views and expertise on the environmental, social and economic consequences of a potential ban on EU sales and international trade of loose shark fins, as well as other policy options to better protect sharks and related marine ecosystems. The call for evidence was complemented by a public consultation, open until 4 June 2024.  Read more on the dedicated page.

Moreover, the Commission is working towards better enforcement of the existing rules. This concerns, among others, implementation of the revised EU fisheries control Regulation and the Regulation on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) that entered into force in January 2024 and the implementation of CITES shark listings. The Commission is also considering further actions required to guarantee traceability of shark products in coordination with Member States’ expert groups. A dedicated meeting on this subject took place on 1 March 2024.  

At the international level, the Commission is reaching out to international partners with a view to achieve, among others, a worldwide finning ban and a reduction of global shark consumption. Since autumn 2023, the question of finning and shark conservation efforts has been raised with a number of partners, including at the High-Level Dialogue with China, in bilateral contacts with Japanese counterparts, as well as in the context of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Moreover, in the context of regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs), the EU has worked closely with the US and other partners at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in November 2023, to gather support for a proposal to adopt a fins-naturally-attached policy. While at this occasion the proposal did not achieve the necessary consensus, the EU will continue to promote the fins-naturally-attached policy in ICCAT and other RFMOs, where the EU fleet reports shark catches, in order to eventually implement a finning ban at regional level.