Shark finning — removing fins at sea and discarding live sharks — causes a prolonged and painful death and has devastated shark populations worldwide, with cascading effects on marine ecosystems.
Finned sharks die slowly on the ocean floor, unable to swim or breathe, over a period of hours. This death involves full consciousness and distress, making it one of the most prolonged and painful deaths documented in commercial fishing. The population-level loss of sharks destabilizes marine food webs, with downstream effects on the welfare and abundance of countless other species.