10.08.2007

OTTAWA – Green Party leader Elizabeth May said today that Canada must do more to protect marine wildlife, starting with a ban on the import of shark fins. Cartilage from the fins is used in shark fin soup, a delicacy in some Asian countries. The rising popularity of the expensive soup has spawned the growth of a poorly regulated trade in shark fins along with the practice of "finning" – hacking the fins off live sharks, which are then dumped back into the ocean to die a slow, painful death.

"People around the world are waking up to the fact that shark fin soup is a luxury that our planet and its shark populations simply cannot afford," said May. "Scientists tell us that shark numbers have declined dramatically over the past 50 years. Dalhousie researchers estimate that populations of Atlantic sharks have dropped by over 90 per cent. As major predators, sharks are critical to the marine ecosystem. Their extermination impacts the entire food chain and modeling shows that other species, including those fished commercially, could experience population crashes."

Experts estimate that tens of million sharks are finned each year. Finning is inherently cruel; it leaves more room on the boat for the valuable fins but guarantees death to the discarded sharks. Unable to swim, finned sharks generally starve or drown. Finning is also wasteful as only the valuable fins are kept while the rest of the shark is discarded. Trade in shark fins is almost completely unregulated.

Ms. May said that it is disheartening that of all the Canadian political parties, only the Green Party seems to be taking shark conservation seriously. At a recent Liberal Party function, attendees were served shark fin soup.

"Cutting the fins from a shark and tossing away the body is tantamount to killing elephants for their ivory tusks," she said. "Canada must do its part to curb the unsustainable demand for shark fin soup. The Green Party is calling upon the Conservative government to protect shark populations by enacting legislation to end shark fin imports and by working with the international community to ban shark finning in the world's oceans."

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