Shark finning removes fins from live sharks and discards the body at sea. This practice causes extreme suffering and population collapse across shark species globally.
Shark finning causes one of the most prolonged and acute suffering deaths of any commercial fishing practice. Sharks removed from the water, finned, and thrown back are fully conscious during the entire process and die slowly over hours or days on the seafloor. The combination of the stress of capture, physical trauma of fin removal, and slow death from immobility and suffocation represents extreme welfare harm. Beyond individual suffering, the population-level collapse of shark species from finning eliminates the individual welfare of billions of sharks who would otherwise live out natural lifespans. Demand reduction for shark fin products in consumer markets is the most powerful lever for reducing both the welfare harms and conservation impacts of the fin trade.