Even if the political environment in Brussels sometimes seems to make clocks tick a little differently, we will not give up and will remain persistent – as promised.
Fourteen members of the citizens' initiative StopFinningEU (including us) set up our "Shark Lab" in the European Parliament on the occasion of "Ocean Week". At seven stations, visitors (MEPs, parliamentary staff, coordinators, members of the Commission, and representatives from the ministries of health, trade, and environment) were able to have the issues surrounding European shark fishing explained by us. Active support was provided by MEP Manuela Ripa (EVP), who strongly advocates for a ban. Our newly printed study on methylmercury in shark meat was presented to her. Manuela Ripa announced that the study is also expected to play an important role in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. Even representatives of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food attended the venue and sought dialogue, showing surprising openness. There was even a "Europeche spy" amongst them, an employee of our declared opponent, the fisheries lobby; however, we recognised him immediately due to his statements.
We thus held numerous discussions and established new contacts, which will hopefully contribute to achieving a European trade ban on shark fins.
Stefanie Brendl (Shark Allies) summed it up: "I am deeply impressed by the people who have come together for this event. Everyone brought their own deep knowledge and unique personality, and somehow it all worked extremely well. We made the best of a last-minute event that would normally take months to organise. Thank you all so much for the immense effort you made to take time off work and travel to Brussels to help, bringing fins and incredible images, spending 16 hours on a train to get here, travelling by van from the UK, travelling from Italy, and spending many hours sitting, listening, and contributing. I am very proud to be part of this group."
We echo those sentiments – a great team of people who love the ocean!
