Ending shark finning

Sharks are slow-growing, long-living fish that produce few offspring. This puts them at high risk of overfishing. High demand for shark products such as shark fins, meat and jaws make them even more vulnerable. 

More than 30% of all known shark and shark relatives are threatened with extinction, according to the UN. 

Shark finning is the cruel practice of removing fins from a shark and then throwing the rest of the body back into the sea, often while the fish is still alive. It is prohibited within MSC certified fisheries.

The MSC requirements for shark finning

MSC certified fisheries are among the best managed in the world. By meeting our requirements they are demonstrating international standards of best practice in monitoring, management and environmental protection. They also show leadership in addressing the issue of shark finning. 

The MSC Fisheries Standard requires certification bodies to assess the likelihood that any vessel in a fishery is engaged in shark finning. This is part of the scoring for both Principle 1 (sustainable stocks) and Principle 2 (minimising environmental impact).

From September 2020, the vessel of any company or fisher convicted of shark finning will not be eligible for MSC certification for at least two years. If evidence of shark finning is detected during an audit or assessment, a fishery will face suspension unless it can show the offending vessel has been expelled from the certificate. This means that a whole fleet does not have to lose its MSC certified status because of the actions of one member.

Latest global efforts

We are looking to see if management best practices related to preventing shark finning have advanced since the current Fisheries Standard requirements were set. This includes investigating the global uptake of 'Fins Naturally Attached' policies, which require the whole shark to be landed, not just its fins.   

We recently conducted a survey of global fishery managers and governments to see if there has been progress in science and management of shark finning that could be used to update our Standard. Out of 25 management agencies that responded, 14 (56%) had a Fins Naturally Attached policy.

Improving our Standards

Every few years we review the MSC Standards so they remain relevant. This allows us to incorporate widely accepted new science and fisheries management best practice, as well as improve implementation and address stakeholder concerns. 

Find out how the Fisheries Standard Review aims to identify further solutions to ensure MSC certified fisheries are not involved in shark finning.

Stakeholders from all sectors are at the heart of our review, helping identify issues, develop solutions and test proposed changes. Find out more about opportunities to get involved in reviewing our Standards.