The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) defines shark finning as the practice of retaining shark fins and discarding the remaining carcass while at sea.
We are aware that shark finning contravenes the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and its International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. It also contravenes and fails to respect a number of other resolutions passed by international marine bodies, whose aim is to minimize waste and discards. Shark finning causes the death of an unaccountable number of sharks each year and threatens a species considered vulnerable.
For these reasons, FLOTT SPA , along with its affiliates and subsidiaries, taking into account the management measures applied by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), as well as national and international norms for the conservation of marine life, has established and incorporated into its tuna handling policy the following points:
- We condemn and forbid shark finning.
- We avoid any commercial dealings with vessels which have been identified by the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), or by any national or international authorities, as practitioners of shark finning and/or do not land all sharks with fins naturally attached, if retained.
- We avoid commercial dealings with any company which has not forbidden and condemned the practice of shark finning. We do not conduct transactions with companies that do not have a public policy prohibiting shark finning and requiring sharks to be landed with fins naturally attached, if retained.