OIPA SUPPORTS THE EUROPEAN CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE “STOP FINNING – STOP THE TRADE” TO END THE SHARK FIN TRADE IN EUROPE
- Closed: victory! -Did you know that hundreds of sharks are killed every single minute just for the “Shark Fin Soup” and the EU is a major player in this bloody, multimillion industry? Europe alone exports 3.500 tons of sharkfins to Asia where they end up as an ingredient in the tasteless, but prestigious sharkfin-soup that costs up to 90€ per bowl. This lucrative business costs the life lives of around 73 million sharks per year.
We now have the chance to ask stop killing sharks for their fins by finally ending their trade in Europe including the import, export and transit, thanks to the EU Citizens‘ Initiative “STOP FINNING – STOP THE TRADE” aimed to change the EU legislation and save the life of these animals.
In fact, although the removal of fins on board of EU vessels and in EU waters is prohibited and sharks must be landed with their fins naturally attached, Europe is a major player in their exploitation and one of the biggest exporters of fins. It is also a major transit hothub for the global trade as inspections at sea are scarce so fins can be still illegally retained, transhipped or landed in EU.
As finning practise prevents effective shark conservation measures, this initiative requests to the European Commission to extend the REGULATION (EU) No 605/2013 also to the trade of fins and therefore develop a new regulation, extending “fins naturally attached” to all trading of sharks and rays in the EU.
what you can do
Add your name to demand a better protection for sharks in Europe
(🎯 1 million signatures are needed until January 31st 2022 🎯)
➡ SIGN THE PETITION (if you are EU citizen) ✍️ STOP FINNING – STOP THE TRADE
➡ ASK friends, family, colleagues to sign too
➡ SHARE on your social media
➡ SPREAD the voice using the hashtag #StopFinningEU
Website of the initiative
READ MORE ABOUT SHARK FISHING IN EUROPE AND THE CRUEL PRACTISE OF FINNING
what now?
⏰ Within 1 month: organizers will meet with representatives of the EU Commission to explain the initiative in detail
⏰ Within 3 months: organizers will have the opportunity to present the initiative at a public hearing at the European Parliament. Parliament may also hold a debate in a full (plenary) session, which could lead to it adopting a resolution related to our issue.
⏰ Within 6 months: the Commission will spell out what action it will propose in response to our initiative (if any), and its reasons for taking (or not taking) action. This response will be in the form of a communication formally adopted by the Commissioners and published in all official EU languages.
news
05 July 2023: EUROPEAN COMMISSION RESPONSE TO THE ECI
The European Commission has finally issued its official response to the ECI “Stop Finning – Stop the Trade” represented by 1.1 million EU citizens who have asked for a ban of shark fin trade.
The EU has announced that it will launch an impact assessment on the environmental, social and economic consequences of a shark fin ban in the European Union by the end of 2023. Having this kind of assessment before introducing new regulations is important: It reduces the chances of being challenged in court later on. So in the long run, it pays off to consider all the impacts up front and work on strategies to offset any financial damage in certain areas. An impact assessment ensures that all consequences are considered in advance.
EU Commission’s response can be read here.
Meanwhile, after years of campaigning for a shark fin ban in the United Kingdom, finally the UK government passed a law that was signed by King Charles a few days ago.
We will continue to stand for sharks and we are confident that the outcome of the assessment will prove that there is no alternative to a legally binding trade ban!
11 January 2023: SUBMISSION OF VALIDATED SIGNATURES TO THE COMMISSION
Today, the initiative ‘Stop Finning – Stop the Trade’ (ECI) handed over more than 1.1 million signatures of support from EU Citizens to the European Commission in Brussels, that now has six months to decide on political actions and possible regulations to end shark fin trade in the EU.
In the next month, the Commission will meet the organizers to discuss the details of the initiative and the European Parliament will then organized a public hearing. The Commission will have time until 11 July 2023 to present its official reply, spelling out what actions it intends to take.
Nils Kluger, spokesperson of “Stop Finning -Stop the Trade” declares: “The EU has to implement a trade ban immediately. Sharks are important to marine ecosystems and populations recover very slowly from industrial fishing. Hunting such important animals for their fins is the epitome of senselessness. We are counting on the EU Commission to implement a strong trade regulation in addition to existing regulations to finally end shark fin trade in the EU.”
21 October 2022: COUNT OF VALIDATED SIGNATURES
We are proud of the achievement of #StopFinningEU campaign: in two years, over 1.200.000 signatures have been collected and 1.119.996 validated, this means the European Citizens Initiative officially exceeded the initial target of 1 million valid signatures! Check here the results!
