Interesting+Facts

**Interesting Facts**

**What is Shark Finning?**
 * The practice of cutting off only the sahrk fins and dsicarding the body. The shark is most often still alive when it is tossed back into the water. Unable to swim, the shark either starve to death, eaten by other fish, and some drown.
 * Fifty percent of sharks are bycatch. They are accidentally caught by boats looking for tuna, swordfish, etc
 * Shark fins are used as the principal ingredient of shark fin soup. Which is considered as an Asian "delicacy"


 * Why does Finning exist?**
 * The main reason behind finning is the market for shark fin soup.
 * In Asian culture particularly Far Eastern it is a prestigious commodity, and traditional means of honouring guests on special occasisons.
 * Fishermen are only interested in fins because shark meat is of low economical value and takes up too much space in the hold
 * Fins are valuable and contrary shark meat has limited commercial value, providing an incentive for shark finning
 * Demand for shark fin soup has rocketed in recent years due to the rising prosperity in Asia
 * Shark fin itself is tasteless, it provide a gelatinous bulk for the soup which is flavoured with chicken

 **Impacts of Shark Finning**
 * Who is invovled?**
 * Finning occurs worldwide and is most common in high seas fisheries
 * Oceanic fleets target valuable fish such as tuna, using thousands of biated hooks on miles of long-line
 * Long liners often catch several as many sharks than they do tuna. Sharks were cut loose and allowed to swim away
 * But shark fins have become increasingly valuable, fewer sharks are being released
 * Figures suggest Hong Kong is the world's shark fin trading centre. With an estimate of 50%-90% of all fins traded world wide.
 * The EU supplies 27% of all fins to HK
 * Shark specialists estimate that 100 million sharks are killed for their fins, annually.
 * One pound of dried shark fin can retail for $300 or more. It's a multi-billion dollar industry.
 * Loss and devastation of shark populations around the world. Experts estimate that within a decade, most species of sharks will be lost because of longlining.
 * Unsustainable fishery. The massive quantity of sharks harvested and lack of selection deplete shark populations faster than their reproductive abilities can replenish populations.
 * Threatens the stability of marine ecosystems.
 * Local waters are invaded by large industrial, foreign fishing vessels that threaten traditional sustainable fisheries.
 * Obstructs the collection of species-specific data that are essential for monitoring catches and implementing sustainable fisheries management.
 * Wasteful of protein and other shark-based products. Up to 99 per cent of the shark is thrown away.


 * Why is it Bad?**
 * Although some sharks are killed before finning (a live shark represents a danger on a fishing boat), many are still alive when their fins are cut off, and are thrown back into the sea alive to die.
 * Finning is hugely wasteful - wet fins typically represent less than 5% of a shark’s body weight and discarded carcasses could provide a valuable protein source, particularly in developing countries.
 * The environmental impact of removing large numbers of sharks from ocean ecosystems is hugely complex and unpredictable. Most sharks are top predators and scientists believe sharks play a key role in marine ecosystems by keeping their prey populations in check. Removing this control is likely to have a damaging effect on marine ecosystems.
 * Today many shark populations are experiencing a downward spiral of reduced populations due to increasing fishing pressure and increasing prices. Over the last 15 years some Atlantic shark populations have declined by up to 80%.


 * Is Shark Finning Illegal?**
 * Each country with a coastline is responsible for laws and regulations pertaining to fishing in their waters.
 * A number of countries have shark-finning legislation. Many stipulate that fins must arrive in a 5 per cent weight ratio of the shark carcasses onboard. Only a few countries demand that sharks arrive in port with fins attached.
 * According to the IUCN Shark Specialist group, the easiest way to implement a ban is to require that shark carcasses be landed with fins attached. The possession of fins alone on vessels would thus be illegal.
 * Shark finning violates the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
 * Shark finning is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's International Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.


 * How can you help?**

The goal of The Finners is to campaign awareness on the issue of shark finning and work towards banning it. Banning people from eating shark fin soup is ultimately impossible because it plays a significant role in many asian cultures. So how do we change a custom or a practice that has been deeply ingrained in a culture? Thus, it is impossible to ask people to change immediately. But what we can do is to raise awareness on how shark fin soup is produced. Instead of banning people from eating shark fin soup, we need to first, ban shark finning. The Finners is campagning to achieve a worldwide ban on shark finning.
 * Sign petitions to the governemnt
 * Don't take part in any Shark Fin Soup acitivity
 * Spread the word
 * Be active
 * Joing our monthly meetings to discuss how we can approach this issus


 * Petitions**
 * For a look at the petitions you can sign go [|here]