It aims to ban the practice of shark finning whereby a shark’s fins are removed and the remainder of the shark is discarded at sea.
The regulation was amended by Regulation (EU) No 605/2013 to remove exemptions to the ban.

KEY POINTS

Scope

The regulation applies to:

all fishing vessels operating in EU waters;
EU vessels operating outside those maritime waters falling within the sovereignty of the EU countries.

It prohibits:

the removal of shark fins* on board vessels and their retention on board, transshipment* or landing;
the purchase or sale of shark fins which have been removed on board, retained on board, transshipped or landed in contravention of the regulation.

This prohibition applies to fish belonging to the taxon Elasmobranchii (which includes sharks, skates, rays and similar species), except for the removal of ray wings.

Conditions

To facilitate on-board storage, fins may be partially sliced through and folded against the carcass, but must not be removed from the carcass before landing.

Reporting

Under this regulation, the country under whose flag the vessel is fishing, in accordance with the EU fisheries control system, must send the European Commission an annual report on the compliance with the regulation including:

the number of landings of sharks;
the number, date and place of the inspections that have been carried out;
the number and nature of cases of non-compliance detected, including a full identification of the vessel(s) involved and the penalty applied for each case of non-compliance; and
the total landings by species (weight/number) and by port.

In 2016, the Commission published a report on the operation of the regulation following its amendment in 2013, and on the international developments in this field.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 2 September 2003.

BACKGROUND

The EU’s fisheries control system (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Shark fins: any fins of sharks including caudal fins, but excluding the pectoral fins of rays, which are a constituent part of raywings.

Transshipment: the transfer of a catch from a smaller fishing boat to a larger one which then incorporates it into a larger batch for shipment.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (EC) No 1185/2003 of 26 June 2003 on the removal of fins of sharks on board vessels (OJ L 167, 4.7.2003, pp. 1-3)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1185/2003 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.