Shark-finning ban in New Zealand waters proposed

A complete ban on shark-finning - catching sharks solely for their fins - in New Zealand waters could be in place within two years, the New Zealand government announced on Thursday.

The ban was originally set for October 2016, but New Zealand Conservation Minister Nick Smith and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy on Thursday issued a proposal to ban all shark-inning from Oct 1 this year.

"This is good news and builds on New Zealand's strong reputation for sustainability and protecting our natural environment," Smith said in a statement.

"Sharks are an important part of the marine ecosystem, and we need to ensure the 113 species of shark in our waters survive."

The government said in January the first tranche of shark species would be covered by the ban from October this year, a second tranche would come from Oct 1 next year, and only the highly migratory blue sharks would be left until Oct 1, 2016.

Consultations on the new proposal with "stakeholders" will be held from Thursday to June 22, Guy said in the statement.

"Ending shark-finning was always going to present practical challenges for the fishing industry, and there was a need to give them time to adjust," Guy said.

The New Zealand Shark Alliance of conservation groups welcomed the proposal, but called for the policy to be based on international best practice to ensure fishers complied with the ban.

"The sooner we can end shark-finning the better, but it needs to be a ban that actually works and stops this abhorrent practice," alliance spokeswoman Milena Palka said.

Palka said any ban would be effective only if it ensured that any harvested sharks were brought to shore "in one piece".

"This is the best way to ensure that sharks aren't killed just for their fins," she said.

Shark fins are valuable for making shark fin soup, which is a delicacy in Asia, and for the production of many traditional Asian medicines.

Globally, 30 percent of shark species are threatened or near-threatened with extinction. Sharks are vulnerable because they grow slowly, mature late and have few young over their lifetimes.

(China Daily 05/23/2014 page10)