China and Japan blocked a United States-led bid to strengthen a ban on shark finning in the Atlantic Ocean, infuriating conservationists.
The U.S., Belize and Brazil presented a proposal to strengthen an existing ban on shark finning at an annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Limassol, Cyprus, this week, garnering support from 42 of the 52 members of the intergovernmental fishery organization, including the EU and U.K.
It would not have banned catching sharks, only required that they be landed with their fins naturally attached. Shark finning is the practice of catching sharks and cutting off their fins — primarily for use in food and traditional medicine — then throwing the fish back into the ocean to die, and is banned by dozens of countries and decried by conservationists.
But China and Japan, both among the world’s biggest consumer markets and exporters of shark fin, refused to green-light the plan, which needed consensus to pass. Though Belize took the unusual step of calling a vote on the matter to bypass the requirement for unanimity Monday, at the end of the eight-day ICCAT meeting, the proposal was shelved.
