Shark finning — removing fins from live sharks and discarding the body at sea — causes severe acute suffering and has depleted shark populations globally.
Shark finning causes one of the most protracted and severe acute welfare events in commercial fishing: a large, active predator is immobilized, subjected to the physical trauma of fin removal while conscious, and then returned to an environment where it cannot move effectively, cannot breathe adequately through gill ventilation, and dies over an extended period from hypoxia and exhaustion. The duration of this welfare harm — hours of conscious dying — distinguishes finning from other forms of fishing that cause shorter acute suffering. The conservation dimension is equally severe: shark population collapses remove apex predators from ocean ecosystems, with cascading effects on ecosystem welfare that affects millions of other animals. Demand reduction for shark fin products, combined with strong import and export bans in major markets, is both a conservation and welfare priority.