MEPs have voted to close loopholes that allowed some EU fishing vessels to continue the cruel practice of "shark finning". OneKind Vice-President David Martin MEP has sent us a blog with the good news.
I am writing to inform you that today the European Parliament voted to end the cruel practice of shark finning.
As you may know, shark finning had been banned by the EU for almost a decade. However thanks to a legal loophole, in practice special technical exemptions remained, making the ban difficult to enforce and too easy for the horrific practice to go unnoticed.
I have long supported the campaign to tighten up legislation and finally bring an end to shark finning. I signed a written declaration calling for the regulation to be tightened up and thanks to the today’s vote, this goal has been achieved. The legislation was passed with 566 MEPs voting for closing the loophole and 47 voting against it.
Thanks to today’s legislation all vessels fishing in EU waters and all EU vessels fishing anywhere in the world will have to land sharks with their fins still attached. This law will help the EU contribute to global efforts to eradicate the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning. As the EU’s global shark catches rank second in the world, this change is a big step in the protection of sharks.
Further information on shark finning and my views can be found on my website.
As Vice-President of the parliament’s intergroup on Animal Welfare, I follow all animal welfare legislation closely. I will look to inform OneKind on any news and any legislation that I believe is relevant. However I also want to hear from OneKind supporters with any concerns that you have about animal welfare at the European level. You can always contact my office at david@martinmep.com.
David Martin MEP