European countries dominate half of Asian shark fin trade, report reveals

A shark is hauled onboard the Nuevo Zumaya, a Spanish ship in the Atlantic. EU states are banned from ‘shark finning’ – cutting fins off live sharks and discarding them – but fins can be removed once they are landed. Photograph: Tommy Trenchard/ Greenpeace

European countries are selling so many shark fins to Asia that they dominate nearly half the trade, a study has found.

Shark populations continue to decline, driven by the global shark fin trade. Last year, scientists found a third of sharks and ray species have been overfished to near-extinction, jeopardising the health of entire ocean ecosystems and food security for many countries.