This year’s meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has ended with a dramatic showdown over shark finning with Belize calling for a rare vote, only to be thwarted by Japan and China. ICCAT did manage to finalize protections for devil rays, mantas, and whale sharks, and took steps to improve countries’ compliance with existing requirements to report and limit shark catch.
For sixteen years, the US, Belize, and Brazil have led a multilateral effort to strengthen ICCAT’s finning ban by requiring that sharks be landed with their fins naturally attached, a policy that is widely regarded as best practice for enforcement and also helpful for shark catch data collection.
This year, the proposal gained a record 42 co-sponsors (roughly 80% of ICCAT Parties), but Japan and China once again blocked consensus. In the final hours of the eight-day meeting, Belize valiantly attempted to settle the matter with a vote, an action rarely seen within consensus-based international fisheries bodies. After vigorous opposition from Japan and confusion over process, the Chair convinced the room to yield, leaving the issue unresolved.
“We are exasperated that a strong, enforceable shark finning ban has once again been blocked by essentially two countries, despite clear scientific advice and overwhelming support from governments and conservationists alike. This failure marks twenty years of an ICCAT finning ban that is unacceptably difficult to enforce, continuing the risk of atrocious waste for some of the Atlantic’s most vulnerable animals,” said Sonja Fordham, President of Shark Advocates International.
“We urge countries to continue implementing fins-naturally-attached rules at the national level and to press on with the work of this unprecedented coalition to close finning ban loopholes at all international fisheries bodies.”
The Shark League thanked Belize, US, Brazil, Canada, UK, and EU for persisting with proposals to strengthen ICCAT’s finning ban over many years and welcomed new support from the Republic of Korea, Costa Rica, and the Philippines.
The UK won a two-year effort to ban retention and promote the safe release of manta and devil rays. The EU secured similar protections for whale sharks and previewed plans to propose expanding them to basking and white sharks next year.
The UK had insufficient support to secure a special 2025 meeting focused on curbing incidental mortality of shortfin mako sharks.
“We’re grateful to the UK and EU for closing gaps in the protection of several threatened species that have been overlooked by fisheries bodies despite longstanding protected status under wildlife treaties,” said Ali Hood, Director of Conservation for the Shark Trust.
“At the same time, we highlight the need to extend safeguards to similarly vulnerable sharks that have yet to garner the conservation spotlight, such as longfin makos and common threshers. We also urge all ICCAT Parties to join the UK in reducing the egregious bycatch of endangered shortfin makos, as a matter of priority.”
ICCAT’S Compliance Committee scrutinized adherence to ICCAT’s shark measures through examination of Parties’ reports. Mexico and Ghana were among the countries called out to explain lacking data and regulations for sharks.
“Many countries have made progress in recent years in reporting on their shark catches and the national regulations needed to fulfill ICCAT shark conservation mandates,” said Shannon Arnold, Marine Program Associate Director for Ecology Action Centre.
“Despite these advances, critical gaps in data and implementation persist. Particularly concerning is the lack of reporting on the sharks that fleets discard at sea and information on relevant domestic regulations, which are needed to verify compliance with treaty obligations. These gaps reinforce the pressing need for ICCAT to establish a clear process for evaluating countries’ requests for exemptions to shark measures.”
