9 January 2014

Greens celebrate shark finning victory

The Green Party today celebrated another victory as the Government acceded to the calls of over 45,000 Kiwis for a quick end to shark finning.

The National Plan of Action – Sharks has been released today, with a tightened timeframe for the implementation of shark protection measures including a ban on shark finning. The NPOA will ensure that a first tranche of species will be covered by the ban in October 2014, with a second tranche following in October 2015. Blue sharks will be covered in October 2016.

"The Green Party has been pushing for an end to shark finning for over 5 years; this is a great victory, ” Green Party oceans spokesperson Gareth Hughes said.

“Shark finning is an incredibly wasteful and inhumane practise; it is like killing an elephant just for its tusks

“Today, we can proudly join nearly 100 countries all over the globe that have banned shark finning.”

The Greens welcomed the improvements in the finalised NPOA, but are expressing concern over the lengthy timeframe for the inclusion of the blue shark into the ban.

“The blue shark is highly migratory, highly targeted, and highly vulnerable. It needs the protection of a finning ban as soon as possible, and 2016 is simply too far away.

“Quicker inclusion of the blue shark into the ban would mean more of these incredible creatures being released alive, and fewer caught, killed and finned.”

Today’s announcement marks the successful culmination of an extensive campaigning effort by the Green Party and over a dozen NGOs, under the New Zealand Shark Alliance banner, which managed to achieve a complete Parliamentary consensus on a ban on shark finning.

“What we have achieved today is remarkable, and I would like to thank and congratulate every organisation, campaigner, scientist, filmmaker, artist and volunteer who helped to make this happen.

“The Greens are very proud to have been part of this effort, and are very happy to support this ban on shark finning in New Zealand's waters," said Mr Hughes.

ENDS

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