EU shark‑fin exports drop; 2025 market worth 44.8 million euros

Brussels – In 2025, the European Union exported 2,700 tonnes of shark fins to non-EU countries, worth 44.8 million euros, down by 16.2% in volume from 2024 and by 31.3 per cent in value. The figures, released today (8 June) by the European Union’s statistical office (Eurostat), reveal that the decline follows the surge between 2023 and 2024, when the export volume doubled from 1,500 to 3,100 tonnes.

According to the National Statistics Institute, the 2025 figures could indicate a return to normality following the previous year’s peak, partly due to the EU’s tighter controls. Brussels has, in fact, intensified monitoring of the fin trade, introducing new product codes into the Eurostat database to track the most commonly traded species more accurately, including the blue shark and the shortfin mako.

 International legislation also played an important role. At the end of 2023, the CITES Convention – which regulates international trade in endangered animal and plant species – underwent a significant update. Under the revision of Appendix II, 60 new shark species were added to the list of protected species, imposing stricter documentation requirements and more rigorous export controls.

 Exports from the EU are mainly destined for Asian countries. In 2025, the main destinations were Singapore and China, which accounted for 41.5 per cent and 40.9 per cent of trade, respectively. These were followed by Hong Kong (12.8 per cent), Japan (2.5 per cent), and Vietnam (1.1 per cent). 

Almost all of the exported fins in 2025 were frozen, accounting for 89.9 per cent of the total value, amounting to €40.3 million. A smaller proportion, 9.3 per cent, comprised smoked, dried, salted, or pickled fins. 

At the same time, the EU also imports shark fins, but in significantly smaller quantities than those exported. In 2025, imports stood at 20.2 tonnes, worth 0.3 million euros. This figure has been steadily declining since 2023, when 66.9 tonnes were imported, worth 1.2 million euros.

 Eurostat publishes data on the shark fin trade to mark World Oceans Day. On its website, the European Commission acknowledged that sharks play a crucial role in marine ecosystems, maintaining the balance of the food chain. Furthermore, it identifies the demand for fins for soup – along with meat, skin, and cartilage – as one of the main threats to their survival, with an explicit note on the role of Asian markets in fuelling the overfishing of already fragile populations. 

Despite this awareness, according to an IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) study report based on official customs data, in 2020 (the latest figures available), EU countries were the source of 45 per cent of all shark fin products imported into major Asian trading hubs. Brussels has stepped up monitoring, but the issue of the shark fin trade remains a topic of debate in Europe. 

In July 2023, the European Commission officially responded to the European Citizens’ Initiative “Stop Finning – Stop the Trade,” which had gathered almost 1.12 million signatures, committing to assess a legislative measure to ban the trade in loose shark fins and to introduce more effective tools for species identification. In the absence of a response, the initiative’s organisers took a further step in April 2026, lodging a formal complaint with the European Ombudsman against the Commission. The allegations are specific: lack of transparency, absence of an up-to-date legislative timetable, and delays which, according to the organisers, constitute a violation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.