Citizens' Initiative "Stop Finning - Stop the Trade

EU Citizens: We can't do it without you

While shark and marine conservationists in the US and UK are celebrating great international successes, the EU still refuses to introduce a general trade ban on shark fins. In order to finally achieve the ban in the EU as well, the international species protection organization Sharkproject is launching a new campaign supporting the European citizens' initiative "Stop Finning - Stop the Trade". The German Postcode Lottery is sponsoring the transnational campaign with 30,000 euros.

After the United Kingdom already introduced a trade ban on shark fins in May 2021, the US Senate now also passed the ban on shark fin trade on 08 June 2021. In view of these decisions, however, one thing is particularly striking: in the EU, despite all efforts, the bloody trade in shark fins is still allowed.

Petra Schwerdtfeger, chairwoman of Sharkproject Germany: "With their general ban on the trade of shark fins, the USA and Great Britain are sending an important signal to the EU to finally become active on a pan-European and international level. Worldwide, at least 73 million sharks are brutally killed for their fins alone. Only together can we prevent shark extinction."

European conservationists angered by EU inaction

The EU's passivity is sparking anger among shark and species conservationists in Europe. As part of the European Citizens' Initiative "Stop Finning - Stop the Trade," Sharkproject, along with more than 90 other species and conservation organizations, is campaigning for an EU-wide ban on the import, export and transit of loose shark fins. To be successful, the citizens' initiative needs the signatures of one million EU citizens. So far, around 233,600 EU citizens have voted in favor of a trade ban on shark fins. In addition to the one million votes, the EU still requires that seven EU countries reach a defined minimum number of votes for this powerful means of direct democracy. While Austria, with just under 41% of the vote, has not even reached the halfway mark, in Germany, with almost 82%, this milestone already seems within reach. Of the 27 EU member states, only France and Portugal have so far reached the required minimum number of votes. (As of June 22, 2021)

Herbert Futterknecht, Chairman of Sharkproject Austria: "Although species and environmentalists have been warning about the extinction of sharks for years, the trade in shark fins is still allowed in the EU. As long as there is no general ban on shark fin trade in Europe and within the EU, the EU is significantly involved in the extinction of sharks and thus in the destruction of our planet. Sharks are at the top of the food chain of our oceans. The oceans produce over 50% of our oxygen, which is essential for survival. Tipping this sensitive ecosystem must be prevented." 

New Sharkproject campaign supports EU citizens' initiative "Stop Finning - Stop the Trade"

Sharkproject wants to gain more attention and thus signatures for the "Stop Finning - Stop the Trade" initiative with its new campaign "We can't do it without you". The focus is on every single EU citizen. The goal - an international ban on the trade in shark fins and the protection of sharks - can only be achieved if everyone signs the demand for the change in the law: EU Citizens' Initiative

Hendrik Lüke, Sharkproject campaign manager "Ohne dich geht's nicht" (editors note: We can't do it without you): "Although it is so important for our environment, the issue of shark protection gets far too little attention, even in Germany and Austria. With our campaign we give everyone a face and show that only with joint efforts we can collect the required one million signatures for the EU citizens' initiative. Only together will we ensure the survival of the sharks. This was the basis for the idea of the ‘We can't do it without you’ campaign. To kick off the campaign, we sank an oversized ‘It won't work without you’ poster as a new crowd puller at the indoor diving center monte mare Rheinbach."

Generous financial support for the "Ohne Dich geht's nicht" campaign. Deutsche Postcode Lotterie supports Sharkproject Germany e.V.'s campaign with 30,000 euros.

Petra Schwerdtfeger, chairwoman of Sharkproject Germany e.V., is pleased that participants of the Deutsche Postcode Lottery support the "Ohne Dich geht's nicht" campaign by buying their tickets: "Thanks to the Postcode Lottery participants, we have the opportunity to present the European Citizens' Initiative to the broad public in the German-speaking area as part of our campaign. With the EU Citizens' Initiative, we have the unique chance to exert direct influence as EU citizens on EU legislation to protect sharks and thus the oceans. Every citizen with the right to vote should use this influence, because: it won't work without you!"   

Petra Rottmann, Head of Charities at Deutsche Postcode Lottery: "We are very happy that we can support this wonderful and for our ecosystem so important project thanks to the commitment of our participants. We wish all the best and much success for the implementation."
 

"Stop Finning - Stop the Trade" citizens' initiative runs until Jan. 31, 2022

Currently, the EU citizens' initiative "Stop Finning - Stop the Trade" runs until Jan. 31, 2022, with the goal of banning the trade in loose shark fins in the European Union. In principle, "finning" is prohibited in the EU; in the case of sharks, the fins are often removed while the shark is fully conscious and the shark bodies are disposed of directly in the open sea. Unfortunately, only about 5% of trawlers are inspected, so this ban is hardly enforced. Completely legally, many millions of sharks are caught every year, their fins cut off after landing and sold for a high profit. Together with Spain, Portugal and France, the EU is the world market leader in industrial shark fishing and also a major player in the export of fins to Southeast Asia, the end product being shark fin soup. Following the example of other countries, the citizens' initiative therefore wants to obtain a general trade ban on fins in the EU.

Vote now: https://eci.ec.europa.eu/012/public/

About Sharkproject

Sharkproject is a species protection organization founded in 2002, which is committed to the more than 500 shark species and the marine ecosystem. All employees work on a voluntary basis. All donations directly benefit shark conservation projects and the related education and information work. In addition to the umbrella organization Sharkproject International, there are currently country organizations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Since 2016, Sharkproject is a full member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world's largest network for environmental and species protection.

For more information, please visit: www.sharkproject.org

Donation account Sharkproject International
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