Brussels, 05/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission considers that the 2003 regulation to ensure that fishermen do not hack off fins illegally and dump the bodies of sharks in the sea, sometimes still alive, have in general been complied with. A few irregularities were noted when it comes to compliance according to a report adopted by the European Commission on 23 December 2005 on the application of the 2003 regulation on the “finning” process on board fishing vessels.
The 2003 regulation bans the hacking off of shark fins on board fishing vessels as well as the offloading of shark fins without the body of the animal. Nonetheless, provisions allow relevant authorities of a Member State to derogate from the general rule by issuing a special fishing permit authorising the practice. The issuance of a special permit is, however, subject to certain conditions: - the finning process must be duly justified and all parts of the sharks must be used. In order to restrict abusive use of the derogation, the theoretical proportion of fin weight should never exceed 5% of the live weight of sharks caught.
In 2004, the Commission report states, 198 special fishing permits (authorising exemption to the general ban on finning on board fishing vessels) were issued by the Spanish authorities. The same year, the German authorities issued special permits for five vessels. Portugal allocated 11 special permits in 2004 to long-line fishing vessels (catching swordfish and pelagic sharks), while the United Kingdom authorised 20 permits. In the four Member States that granted special permits in 2003 and/or 2004, the maximal theoretical weight of 5% ('weight of fins compared to live weight of sharks) applied. Spain and Portugal felt that this maximum 5% rate was not perfectly adapted to the reality of their national fisheries, but the Commission sees no reason to amend its legislation.
On the subject of monitoring compliance of vessels with such fishing permits, the Commission reports states that: - Spain was guilty of three infringements for failure to comply with the maximum 5% rate fixed by the regulation (out of 119 controls made on long-liners and refrigerator ships with shark catches on board); - Germany has begun administrative infringement proceedings for failure to register the weight of shark fins removed; - and Portugal notes difficulties in implementing the registration procedure for shark fins, especially among the owners of refrigeration ships.
The report also shows that, on 30 September 2005, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Malta had not yet communicated their national report for 2004. Also, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Latvia, Estonia and the United Kingdom had still not responded to the Commission's request for additional information.