In some Far East cultures shark fin soup is a traditional means of honouring special guests or important occasions, much as champagne is used in many western cultures. The fin nets extracted from shark fins give the soup a glutinous consistency. Pork or chicken is usually added to give the soup flavour. A bowl of shark fin soup typically costs £10 - £50 and contains 3-6gm of processed shark fin nets.

Finning is the process of cutting off the fins of a shark and then dumping the rest of the body at sea, unused. Fins typically represent about 5% of bodyweight. This wasteful and often cruel practice exists as a result of the fact that most shark fins are valuable and most shark meat has limited commercial value, and can be problematic to store. Finning commonly occurs in high seas fisheries, hundreds of miles out to sea, and in small inshore fisheries in tropical countries, where fishermen are being encouraged by shark fin-buyers to target local shark populations.

Currently the Trust estimates about 100 million sharks are killed per year by 'bycatch' or in targeted shark fisheries, and that this level of exploitation is often unsustainable. Many regions are witnessing a downward spiral of reduced shark populations, increasing shark fin prices and increased fishing effort to catch sharks.

SHARKS NEED YOUR HELP!

Please sign our petition below to say that you agree with the following statement:

"I, the undersigned, urge the UK Government and the EU to implement a shark managemant plan, and ban shark finning in EU and state waters"

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