Luke Warwick, director of shark and ray conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society, who was also not involved in the Al Jazeera investigation, said the U.S. shark fin law doesn’t make it clear whether the passage of fins through U.S. territory en route to its final destination is actually prohibited or if it actually remains legal.
“The issue of transshipment is likely most significant, as the U.S. wasn’t of high concern in terms of unsustainable shark catch itself, but has long acted as a major transshipment point for fins from sharks caught in poorly regulated fisheries in South and Central America,” Warwick told Mongabay in an email. “This is an issue that was raised as a serious concern before last year’s sales ban, and could well be continuing.”
Warwick added that he wasn’t surprised to see the sale of shark fin soup in New York since small quantities of processed fins can easily be concealed and moved around to places where the demand remains high. However, he noted that the shark trade bans imposed in November 2022 by CITES, the international convention on the wildlife trade — which experts say will account for 95% of the global fin trade — along with nations like the U.S. passing laws to prohibit the trade, should be making a bigger impact.
“[A]ny trade in shark fins should now be subject to far greater scrutiny from customs officials around the world,” Warwick said, “a step that can help clamp down on ongoing unsustainable catch and trade that supplies these markets, and threatens these ancient predators’ survival.”
Watch Al Jazeera’s documentary here:
Banner image: During the investigation, the team end up confiscating 180 kilograms (nearly 400 pounds) of dried shark fins from nine different species, including endangered whale sharks (Rhincodon typus). Image by Emilie Ledwidge / Ocean Image Bank.
Elizabeth Claire Albertsis a senior staff writer for Mongabay. Follow her on Mastodon, @[email protected], and Blue Sky, @elizabethalberts.bsky.social.
Brazil claims record shark fin bust: Nearly 29 tons from 10,000 sharks seized
Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Ecosystems, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, shark finning, Sharks, Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Trade, Wildlife Trafficking
Ecuador, North America, Peru, South America, United States
Source link : https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/still-on-the-menu-shark-fin-trade-in-u-s-persists-despite-ban/
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Publish date : 2023-12-27 03:00:00
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