On Monday 16 December, the European Commission announced measures to follow up the European citizens’ initiative (ECI) entitled ‘Stop finning - Stop the trade’. This ECI calls on the Commission to take measures to put an end to the international trade in bulk shark fins.
From January 2025, the Commission will step up surveillance of trade in shark products by introducing 13 new tariff codes (https://aeur.eu/f/ev3 ) for sharks and shark fins. These codes will make it possible to track the most commercial species of shark, in particular the blue shark and the shortfin mako. The Commission will evaluate import and export data based on these new codes and the data will be made available to the public via Eurostat’s international trade database.
The Commission has also completed the first phase of its impact assessment on the ban on trade in detached fins. This first stage consisted of an in-depth public consultation (see EUROPE 13369/13). The consultation took place between February and July 2024. The results (https://aeur.eu/f/ev4 ) of the consultation are available. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)