Every year, more than 100 million sharks are killed for commercial purposes. Coastal fisheries are responsible for approximately 95 percent of these cases, leaving some shark species already critically endangered.
Only recently in Portugal, the National Republican Guard (GNR) seized 53 tonnes of blue shark (Prionace glauca) in the region of Porto. The blue shark, also known as tintureira, is protected by the CITES convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), and its trade is subject to very strict regulations.
The GNR stated that the seizure took place on 19 June during a joint inspection with the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and the Tax and Customs Authority of the Porto Customs. There was suspicion that the fisher was in violation of the CITES convention and that fins had been illegally removed. Due to non-compliance with the European regulation prohibiting the removal of shark fins on board fishing vessels, an Ordnungswidrigkeitenbescheid was issued.
The National Republican Guard emphasised the responsibility of everyone involved in the cycle of sustainable fishing and trade, particularly concerning protected species, to contribute to species conservation.
A study published in January confirms the staggering figures surrounding shark catches. The study, conducted by research teams from Dalhousie University in Canada, the University of California in the USA, and the international non-governmental organisation The Nature Conservancy, includes data for the period between 2012 and 2019. Despite the increasing number of countries that have enacted legislation against "finning"—where the fins are severed from caught sharks and the still-living animals are discarded back into the sea—the problem persists. The shark fins are primarily sold to Asian markets, such as China and Vietnam, where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy, even though the cartilage of the fins provides only texture, rather than flavour, to the soup.
