Shark Finning

BARBARITY CAUSING EXTINCTION FOR PROFIT.

As hard as it is to look at, we must. Because only when we have the courage to confront the truth can we be compelled to act. Beyond the abhorrent cruelty of finning, it’s destroying our oceans—the life support system of our planet—because without the oceanic ecosystem’s apex predator the food chain will collapse.

Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored. The practice has increased over the past decade due to the increasing demand for fins (for shark fin soup), improved fishing technology, and improved market economics. To put the magnitude of shark finning into perspective, it is estimated that this multi-billion dollar industry has profits second only to the illegal drug trade.

We encourage you to read Edward Dorson’s essay, The Massacre of the World's Sharks for Soup, for a fuller understanding of this merciless practice. You can also get a better sense of the current state of legislation and shark finning bans HERE.

As Many As 100,000,000 Every Year

Think about that number—ONE HUNDRED MILLION sharks are slaughtered every year. That’s roughly the population of Mexico or Japan. Or the United Kingdom and Australia, combined.

Sharks are caught, their fins are savagely hacked off and most are then thrown back into the ocean while still alive where they die a slow and agonizing death by downing or by bleeding to death.

Any shark is taken; regardless of age, size or species. The longlines used in shark finning operations are the most significant cause of losses in shark populations worldwide. Longlines are indiscriminate and also kill sea turtles, dolphins and any other species of marine wildlife they catch.

What We’re Doing

Fighting with science, that’s what we’re doing.

With facts and research to back up our position, we helped push through the federal bill prohibiting finning in the United States, including lobbying many senators and congresspeople. We also helped push through bills banning the shark fin trade in 11 states, and are supporting the current H.R.737 - Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2019. And you can be assured that we’ll be at the upcoming CITES Conference of the Parties passionately advocating for increased shark protections from the fin trade.

But we believe in grassroots activism as well so we provide a number of tools for public use by our SRI community.

We’ve found the four-to-a-page signature forms below don’t get deleted like email comments or shredded easily. We encourage you download and collect signatures. You can send them to us for delivery to legislators.

For restaurants that have agreed not to serve shark fin soup we provide door stickers and menu cards so they can announce their position on the shark fin trade to their patrons.

SRI Advisory Board Member Michael Aw has designed artful table cards that can be used at wedding banquets (a significant amount of shark fin soup consumption) so the family can make their wishes for sharks known.