China · India · U.S. · Ars Technica
China’s shark finning could lead to US seafood sanctions
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For migrant workers trapped onboard Chinese distant water fishing fleets, cutting the fins off sharks as they writhe violently on rusted decks in the Indian Ocean isn’t accidental.
Key facts
- Should the National Marine Fisheries Service identify China as having violated the US Moratorium Protection Act, then President Trump could be expected to ban the import of all $1.5 billion
- Official Chinese data shows that in 2023, more than 10,000 blue sharks and nearly 1,700 shortfin mako sharks were discarded by crews in the western and central Pacific region alone
- Interviews by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) in 2024 and 2026, however, exposed the widespread and devastating nature of China’s shark finning industry
- Shark populations have declined by more than 70 percent since 1970, with more than one-third of all shark and ray species now threatened with extinction
Summary
The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit focused on the protection of endangered species, filed a formal petition this month requesting the U.S. government potentially sanction China for failing to meet American shark conservation standards. Should the National Marine Fisheries Service identify China as having violated the US Moratorium Protection Act, then President Trump could be expected to ban the import of all $1.5 billion of Chinese seafood. “Losing sharks wouldn’t be an ecological disaster; it would be a profound moral failure,” Alex Olivera, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in an email. Sharks are vulnerable to overexploitation because they grow slowly, mature late, and have few offspring.