China and Japan blocked a United States-led bid to strengthen a ban on shark finning in the Atlantic Ocean, infuriating conservationists.
The U.S., Belize and Brazil presented a proposal to strengthen an existing ban on shark finning at an annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Limassol, Cyprus this week, garnering support from 42 of the 52 members of the intergovernmental fishery organization, including the EU and U.K.
It would not have banned catching sharks, only required that they be landed with their fins naturally attached. Shark finning is the practice of catching sharks and cutting off their fins — primarily for use in food and traditional medicine — then throwing the fish back into the ocean to die, and is banned by dozens of countries and decried by conservationists.
But China and Japan, both among the world’s biggest consumer markets and exporters of shark fin, refused to green-light the plan, which needed consensus to pass. Though Belize took the unusual step of calling a vote on the matter to bypass the requirement for unanimity Monday, at the end of the eight-day ICCAT meeting, the proposal was shelved.
Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International who was present for the meeting, told POLITICO she was “deeply, deeply disappointed” the measure failed to pass despite support from an “unprecedented coalition of countries.”
“We are exasperated that a strong, enforceable shark finning ban has once again been blocked by essentially two countries, despite clear scientific advice and overwhelming support from governments and conservationists alike,” Fordham added in a statement.
She blamed “a lack of coordination” among the proposal’s supporters for its failure, saying they seemed “caught off guard” when Belize called for a vote and did not push back against Japan’s objections.
“In 16 years, this was the biggest push [for reform] … and I’m just baffled that the proponents didn’t defend their own proposal,” said Fordham, who also hit out at the meeting’s chair, former EU fisheries official Ernesto Penas Lado, for yielding to Japan and denying a vote.
The post Shark lobby slams China, Japan for vetoing US-led move to ban ‘finning’ appeared first on Politico.
