What is shark finning, and how does the shark fin trade work?

Shark finning is cutting the fins off a shark and throwing the rest of the animal back into the sea, often while it is still alive. Unable to swim effectively, it sinks to the bottom and dies of suffocation or is eaten by other predators.

The reason is money. Finning at sea lets a fishing vessel bring in more sharks, because it needs to store and carry only the fins, the most profitable part, while the shark meat is bulky. Finning increased since 1997, largely because of demand for shark fin soup and traditional cures, particularly in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. In the soup the fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other ingredients. Estimates of the global trade in fins range from US$540 million to US$1.2 billion in 2007, with fins commonly retailing at US$400 per kilogram.

How many sharks? Estimates differ widely. Some studies put the number harvested for fins at 26 to 73 million a year; others suggest 73 million are finned each year, and scientists have noted that the figure may be nearer 100 million. Whatever the exact number, but the IUCN Shark Specialist Group calls the largely unregulated fin trade one of the most serious threats to shark populations worldwide.

Rules are tightening. By 2013, 27 countries and the European Union had banned finning, though international waters were unregulated. In November 2022 governments meeting under CITES, the treaty on trade in endangered species, voted to bring all 54 requiem shark species under trade controls.