Brussels, 22/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - With its vote on Thursday 22 November, the European Parliament removed all exceptions to the legislation banning the barbaric practice of cutting off fins and dumping shark carcasses at sea. The Parliament did not follow the Parliament fisheries committee's opinion or that of the rapporteur, Maria do Ceu Patrao (EPP, Portugal), who felt that some exceptions should be maintained. The initial report allowed only freezer-fishing vessels to remove the shark fins at sea, making it an obligation for them to land the fins and the processed sharks' bodies in the same port. An amendment by the S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA, ECR and EFD Groups was adopted in plenary (520 votes in favour, 120 against and 8 abstentions), allowing stricter legislation to be brought in.
The 2003 Community ban prohibited the removal of shark fins on board fishing vessels, except on board vessels that had a special permit for finning at sea. The Parliament vote does away with those exemptions. Sharks should be landed with their fins “naturally attached” to the body, as was proposed by the Commission and upheld by the Council of Ministers. Removal of shark fins at sea prevents the effective application of the Union ban on shark finning and prevents the essential collection of data on the different species caught. The report thus amended was adopted by 566 votes for, 47 against and 16 abstentions.
“I welcome Parliament's decision to follow the Commission's proposal to close the loopholes in our current rules. I am now looking forward to a swift agreement between Parliament and Council on a real ban to shark finning, without any derogations”, commented EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki.
The Oceana organisation applauded the Parliament for its strict ban on shark finning “which will require all sharks caught in EU waters and by EU vessels fishing worldwide to be landed with their fins still naturally attached. The measure closes long-standing enforcement loopholes in EU policy on shark finning, will improve the collection of valuable data about shark catches, and will help to prevent the trade of fins from threatened shark species. The vote of the plenary session, in Strasbourg, represented the final hurdle to the adoption of the 'fins-attached' policy, which the European Council endorsed in March 2012”, an Oceana press release reads. The EU catches more sharks than anywhere else in the world (17% of declared shark catches in 2009) and is the biggest exporter of fins towards Hong Kong and China.
The Greens/EFA Group was also pleased. Jean-Paul Besset, a member of that group, said (our translation): “Here is the Europe we love, a Europe that is not bowled over by private and national interests, a Europe that clearly states its principles and implements them resolutely: by firmly banning and without any derogation shark finning at sea, by giving up this abhorrent and barbaric practice, and by putting an end to such dreadful waste”. (LC/transl.jl)