Chinese and Taiwanese Fleets Behind African Shark Fin Trade

 The Environmental Justice Foundation published on 16 July 2026 a report titled "Cut and Run: Exposing Senegal as a Gateway for the Global Shark Fin Trade."

This report examines the nature and extent of shark finning on board foreign vessels that call at Dakar, Senegal.  Shark finning is the practice of cutting off a shark's fins before throwing the body overboard.  The fins are then sold for human consumption.

The Environmental Justice Foundation conducted 124 interviews with Indonesian and Filipino fishers who worked on board Chinese and Taiwanese tuna longliners operating in the region.  The Chinese and Taiwanese fleets are repeatedly linked to shark finning in the region.  

China and the Illegal Wildlife Trade

The Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS) at Stellenbosch University published on 25 February 2014 a commentary titled "Illegal Wildlife Trade, China and the Sale of Endangered Shark Products" by Meryl Burgess, research analyst at CCS.  She concludes that China is showing signs of taking seriously the fight against illegal wildlife trade.