Shark finning - removing fins and discarding live sharks at sea - causes extreme suffering and has driven severe population declines across many shark species worldwide.
Shark finning causes profound acute suffering - sharks are finned while conscious, then returned to the ocean where they sink to the seabed unable to swim, dying slowly from suffocation as water cannot flow over their gills, blood loss from fin removal wounds, and predation by other species. The suffering experienced during this process is among the most severe documented for any commercially exploited animal. Population declines from finning remove apex predators that regulate entire marine ecosystems, with cascading consequences for millions of other marine animals. The economic case for live shark ecotourism substantially exceeds that for fin trade, making continued finning an ethical and economic failure simultaneously.