Hornsby shark fin sale sparks campaign to make finning illegal
The one-off sale of shark fins at a northern Sydney seafood shop has sparked calls from residents to take the product off the market.
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An animal advocate and Hornsby resident has shared her outrage over the “disturbing sale” of shark fins at a seafood shop.
Carrie Fangerhoff said she was shocked to discover shark fins on display at Seafood at Hornsby inside Westfield this week, and called for community support to see all sales banned across the country.
“I had never seen this kind of thing on display before, It felt wrong,” she said.
“Currently, shark finning is legal as long as the whole fish is landed and not thrown back. “Australia needs to get with all the other countries and states in the world who have banned shark fin sales and shark finning as a practise.”
The Seafood at Hornsby display confirmed the fins were a “Product of Australia”.
A Seafood At Hornsby spokesman said the product in question was “legally caught and purchased in Australia”.
“The sale was a one off by us,” the representative said. “We buy the shark whole and sell the entire product and would usually avoid the sale of the fin.
“Given public concern regarding the sale of any shark fins we happily voluntarily discontinue sale of this product.”
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Ms Dangerhoff shared her outrage with Hornsby-based community groups.
“The response from the community has been strong, and surprisingly so,” she told the Hornsby Advocate.
“My original post’s purpose was to validate my own feelings while trying to remain realistic about the topic which is hard — I originally had no political agenda, and was certainly informed but from the responses to me both for and against the topic, I am starting to think that there really is an issue here.”
Following the discovery the vegetarian contacted Sea Shepherd Australia for guidance to combat the sale of the product.
“I reached out to Westfield who came back really compassionately as well,” she said.
“I was pleased by the amount of support I received but also saddened by the fact that not much can be done.”
In unregulated circumstances, shark finning can include the removal of fins and discarding the remaining body — often while the animal is still alive resulting in suffocation.
More than 12,400 people have signed an Animals Australia petition to ban shark finning.