Imported post
EU Shark Finning Regulation - Urgent Action Required 25/3/03
Dear All
On Thursday 27 March the European Parliament meets in Plenary to take a vote on amendments to the proposed Council Regulation on the removal of fins of sharks on board vessels.
What you can do: read the text below and send a copy to your MEP - this requires IMMEDIATE ACTION so we can ensure as many informed MEPs as possible attend the plenary session on Thursday and vote in support of an effective and enforceable Regulation which will actually improve the management and sustainability of shark fisheries. Please also encourage friends and collegues to write similar letters.
MEP email addresses can be access through:
http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep5....ig=home
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Current situation: the original Proposal (document 11547/02) would prohibit the removal of shark fins on board vessels except under certain circumstances, by special fishing permit, and only if fins and partly processed carcasses were retained on board and landed together with the fins not exceeding 5% by weight of the total weight of remaining parts of sharks after evisceration. This is modelled on the Finning Act that governs shark fisheries in the Western North Atlantic and which has been accepted by the fishing industry in this regions.
Numerous amendments have been proposed by Environment and Fisheries Committees and the Commission. The Environment Committee amendments would strengthen the Regulation by minimising removal of fins on board vessels (a requirement in Australian shark fisheries) and improve associated fisheries monitoring and management measures. Some amendments would significantly weaken it, by increasing the original 5% ratio of fin to carcass weight to a ratio not supported by scientific data and by permitting separate landings of fins and carcasses, thus making the Regulation unenforceable at landing sites. This would allow illegal finning and discard of shark bodies at sea to continue virtually unchecked.
Course of action: although amendments that strengthen the proposed regulation would be most welcome, it is at essential that any compromise approach should at least retain the provisions in the original draft: namely a ratio of fins to other parts of the shark landed that does not exceed 5% by weight., and the requirement that all detached fins must be landed together with the other parts of the shark, so that this ratio can be verified by inspectors at landing points.
What you can do: please attend the Plenary session on Thursday and vote in favour of an effective and enforceable Regulation which will actually improve the management and sustainability of shark fisheries. Please also encourage your colleagues to use their votes wisely.
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All the best, and thank you for your support - apologies to those beyond Europe, but feel free to lend your voice.
All the best
Ali Hood
Conservation Officer
The Shark Trust
Rope Walk
Coxside
Plymouth
PL4 0LF
Ph.01752 672020
Fax 01752 672008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The views expressed in this email are not necessarily those of the sharktrust.
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EU Shark Finning Regulation - Urgent Action Required 25/3/03
Dear All
On Thursday 27 March the European Parliament meets in Plenary to take a vote on amendments to the proposed Council Regulation on the removal of fins of sharks on board vessels.
What you can do: read the text below and send a copy to your MEP - this requires IMMEDIATE ACTION so we can ensure as many informed MEPs as possible attend the plenary session on Thursday and vote in support of an effective and enforceable Regulation which will actually improve the management and sustainability of shark fisheries. Please also encourage friends and collegues to write similar letters.
MEP email addresses can be access through:
http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep5....ig=home
----------------------------------------------------------
Current situation: the original Proposal (document 11547/02) would prohibit the removal of shark fins on board vessels except under certain circumstances, by special fishing permit, and only if fins and partly processed carcasses were retained on board and landed together with the fins not exceeding 5% by weight of the total weight of remaining parts of sharks after evisceration. This is modelled on the Finning Act that governs shark fisheries in the Western North Atlantic and which has been accepted by the fishing industry in this regions.
Numerous amendments have been proposed by Environment and Fisheries Committees and the Commission. The Environment Committee amendments would strengthen the Regulation by minimising removal of fins on board vessels (a requirement in Australian shark fisheries) and improve associated fisheries monitoring and management measures. Some amendments would significantly weaken it, by increasing the original 5% ratio of fin to carcass weight to a ratio not supported by scientific data and by permitting separate landings of fins and carcasses, thus making the Regulation unenforceable at landing sites. This would allow illegal finning and discard of shark bodies at sea to continue virtually unchecked.
Course of action: although amendments that strengthen the proposed regulation would be most welcome, it is at essential that any compromise approach should at least retain the provisions in the original draft: namely a ratio of fins to other parts of the shark landed that does not exceed 5% by weight., and the requirement that all detached fins must be landed together with the other parts of the shark, so that this ratio can be verified by inspectors at landing points.
What you can do: please attend the Plenary session on Thursday and vote in favour of an effective and enforceable Regulation which will actually improve the management and sustainability of shark fisheries. Please also encourage your colleagues to use their votes wisely.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
All the best, and thank you for your support - apologies to those beyond Europe, but feel free to lend your voice.
All the best
Ali Hood
Conservation Officer
The Shark Trust
Rope Walk
Coxside
Plymouth
PL4 0LF
Ph.01752 672020
Fax 01752 672008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The views expressed in this email are not necessarily those of the sharktrust.
To remove yourself from our mailinglist simple go to http://www.sharktrust.org/cgi/removemailinglist.asp and enter your email address.
Dual virus scanning procedure found this email to be virus free.
Mailinglist technology implemented by www.Sunspace.ltd.uk