Next Step: Write directly to your MP

We need you now more than ever. As British citizens or UK residents you can write to your MPs asking them to support the petition to completely ban the UK import of shark fins.

You can find the contact details for your local MP by clicking on the button below asking them to support the Shark Guardian campaign (Finspire Change UK) and petition #300535 to completely ban the UK import of shark fins.

When writing your email, please be polite and to-the-point and make sure you include your name and address so that your MP knows you are a local constituent. Repeated, identical messages are subject to being blocked by spam filters, so it is very important that you use your own words. As guidance, here are some points you can include when writing your message:

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About Sharks

• Sharks play a vital role in our oceans, as apex predators they maintain fish populations and the ecosystem they inhabit.

• Sharks have been doing this for over 400 million years.

• Life on Earth depends on life in the oceans - sharks control just that.

• Some sharks take years to reach maturity, once they’re ready to reproduce, they do so intermittently over long periods of time meaning stocks recover very slowly.

The Threat

• More than 100 million sharks are killed worldwide each year, a significant portion for the shark fin trade.•

• That’s over 11,000 sharks killed every hour or 183 every minute.

• Over 100 species of sharks and rays, collectively referred to as sharks, are now threatened with extinction.

• Sustainable shark fisheries worldwide currently do not exist due to total lack of regulation, monitoring and enforcement.

• Currently it is legal to bring 20kg of dried shark fin into the UK according to the 'fish and fish product' allowances set by UK Border Force.

• A 20kg bag of shark fins is not required to be declared, therefore traceability is impossible.

• 20kg of dried shark fin potentially equates to hundreds of sharks butchered dependent on size.

The Implications

• Many of these fins could belong to threatened shark species listed under CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species). These could make their way into the UK illegally through the loophole identified in the import system. This would be illegal and implicate the UK in wildlife trading crimes.

• UK Border Force agents are not able to distinguish fins from sharks listed under CITES Appendix II, and are therefore protected. They require special documentation and licenses to be traded internationally, however this is totally unmonitored.

• It is required that imported items over the value of £390 be declared to UK Border Force. 20kg of shark fins can have a value of over £4,000. This identifies huge tax evasion potential.

The Solution? Ban the importation of shark fin

• It is almost impossible to verify if imported shark fins come from “sustainable” shark fisheries or countries with a ‘Fins Naturally Attached’ policy.

• It is almost impossible, without expensive and lengthy DNA testing, to identify whether the imported fins come from endangered or threatened shark species.

• The above point makes it impossible to stay in accordance with CITES regulations, therefore the UK could be implemented in international wildlife crimes.

• There is a high risk of tax evasion as identified above, previously known to be exploited in the US and Norway.

• It is the right thing to do, the UK should not associate itself with the shark fin trade.

• The UK can become the leader in ocean and shark conservation.

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