MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK minister swims in tank of sharks to highlight campaign against ‘finning’

Minister Benyon swimming among sharks

UK Fisheries minister Richard Benyon has been swimming with sharks to highlight his desire to tighten the European ban on “finning”. Mr Benyon took the plunge into a tank of sharks at Sealife London Aquarium to launch a Shark Trust initiative calling for support to close loopholes in the EU ban on slicing off shark fins and discarding the bodies at sea.

Under the ban, Spain and Portugal continue to cut off fins from sharks at sea, and land fins and bodies separately according to an agreed weight ratio which allows fishermen to land far more fins than carcasses, the Shark Trust said.

The UK Government backs a proposal to close the loophole so that all sharks must be landed with their fins still naturally attached.

Preventing finning at sea would reduce the amount of sharks caught because complete sharks take up more storage space than just fins, and make it easier to check that fishermen are not catching prohibited species such as porbeagles.

It would also help the EU manage shark fisheries more sustainably, the Shark Trust said.

And it would reduce the waste associated with finning, which provides countries such as China with fins for shark fin soup while the rest of the shark is thrown, unused and sometimes still alive, into the sea, the Trust said.

It added that sharks grow and reproduce slowly and populations decline quickly when targeted by fisheries, and estimated that at current rates of exploitation, shark populations would decline to “unviable levels” with many becoming regionally extinct. The UK has led efforts to tighten EU rules.

Mr Benyon said: “We oppose shark finning and the ban that is currently in place is far too lenient.

“The UK already requires all sharks to be landed with their fins attached and now Europe needs to follow our lead and listen to the 165,000 people who petitioned for a stronger ban.”

Before getting into a cage in the aquarium tank, which contained sharks including sand tigers, grey reef sharks and zebra sharks, Mr Benyon said: “I’m looking forward to my dip.”

Shark Trust director of conservation Ali Hood said: “Only two EU member states, Spain and Portugal, continue to remove shark fins at sea and it is time for Europe to bring its regulation in line with other nations who have adopted more effective management regimes.”

The EU Council of Fisheries Ministers adopted a position in favour of tightening the finning ban in March this year, with only Spain and Portugal opposing it. The European Parliament must also support the move for it to come into force.

The Shark Trust is calling for members of the European Parliament and aquariums across the country to show their support for the toughened-up rules before they are voted on in the autumn.