Friday, 7 June 2013

EU closes shark finning loophole

Brussels (AFP) June 06, 2013



The European Union on Thursday closed a last loophole in its ban on shark finning, the long-contested practice of fisherman slicing the fins off and then throwing the still live sharks back overboard to die.

The EU banned shark finning in 2003 but special permits still allowed some fisherman to "process" the sharks they caught on board, with the fins and body then being landed together at on