Illegal shark fins flood Senegal port as Chinese vessels flout bans, conservationists alarmed
A report by the Environmental Justice Foundation reveals that Chinese and Taiwanese fishing vessels are frequently engaging in illegal shark finning in the waters off Senegal. This practice, which involves removing fins from live sharks, contributes to the rapid decline of global shark populations and is often linked to broader human rights abuses.
Why it matters
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing threatens marine biodiversity and undermines international conservation efforts, posing a significant challenge to global ocean health.
DAKAR, July 17 — In the high seas off west Africa, a fisherman on a Chinese longline tuna vessel cuts the fins off a live shark before throwing it back in the water to suffocate and drown.
Its lucrative appendages will be landed at the port of Dakar before being shipped onward to Asia for use in shark fin soup, a delicacy in certain countries, or traditional medicine.
Finning, the practice of removing fins and casting the rest of the shark overboard, often alive, is largely prohibited across a variety of regulatory zones, countries and international conventions, even if fishing certain shark species is generally allowed.
Yet in recent years, illegal shark fins have been repeatedly landed in Dakar, one of Africa’s busiest fishing ports, by dozens of Chinese and Taiwanese longline tuna vessels, according to a report released Thursday by the London-based Environmental Justice Foundation NGO.
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