Environment Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 19 March 2008.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(1) what steps his Department is taking to secure an international ban on shark finning;
(2) if he will make it his policy to press for an international moratorium on shark hunting.
DEFRA is against the practice of finning sharks and discarding the bodies back into the sea. We are committed to reducing illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, where finning is thought to be practiced with resulting impacts on shark populations, by actively implementing the proposals of the High Seas Task Force in order to help identify and eliminate illegal fishing activity.
Our aim is to achieve the sustainable use and conservation of shark species at national-level. We will also work to influence the European Commission, both at EU-level and beyond where the European Commission represents member states in fora such as Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO) and the Convention on International trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
The European Commission intends to adopt a communication on an EU plan of action for the conservation and management of sharks in December 2008. I believe this will provide an opportunity for the European Community to take an ecosystem approach to the management and conservation of sharks in EU waters and internationally. I intend to work with DEFRA officials, the commission and other member states towards this.
Yes0 people think so
No1 person thinks not
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