Bob Dechert, Member of Parliament

August 4, 2011

Dechert’s Statement on the Issue of Shark Fin Products 

Mississauga, Ontario – Bob Dechert, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Erindale issued the following statement:

“As the following information clarifies, Canada has detailed regulations regarding the shark fishing practices and the importation of endangered species of sharks. We are working with the United Nations and other international agencies to promote sustainable and humane fishing practices with respect to shark and other fish species.”

•  The act of removing the fins from sharks and discarding the remainder of the carcass (finning) has been prohibited in Canada since 1994 by regulation under the Fisheries Act. However, it is not illegal  to sell shark fins in Canada. On the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the main shark fishery is for spiny dogfish with a minor directed fishery of porbeagle shark (up to 135 tonnes) to account for bycatch in pelagic longline fisheries. Canada also allows for the retention of a limited amount of blue shark and shortfin mako sharks that are incidentally harvested in other fisheries.
• DFO promotes the full utilization of all harvested marine resources by having the carcasses landed as well as the fins. For enforcement purposes, shark fins cannot make up more than 5 per cent of the
  overall weight of shark onboard a Canadian fishing vessel (5% rule).
• In 2007, Canada released its National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (NPOA sharks) in response to international calls on States to do so within the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Canada has worked closely with the United States and other countries to adopt stricter management measures for various shark species such as porbeagle and shortfin mako sharks and recently worked with the European Community and others to ban any retention of big eye thresher sharks in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Many shark species are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES). As a Party to CITES, Canada has a legal obligation to prevent the import of products from shark species that are listed as endangered.