Hong Kong policy work for the shark fin-related trade

Hong Kong is one of the world’s most important shark fin trade hubs, responsible for approximately 50% of global imports and trading with more than 130 countries/territories worldwide. This project aims to review and update policies and legislation surrounding the shark fin and related trade to enhance Hong Kong’s implementation and enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), hence ensuring that the trade is properly managed and that correct tools are in place to combat illegal trade. The project strives ultimately to provide evidence to the local government through research and public engagement thereby motivating a change in Hong Kong’s law to recognize wildlife crimes as organized and serious crimes, and subsequently increase successful prosecutions of illegal shark fin traders, deterring trade illegality and leading to a reduction of illegal shark fin trade through Hong Kong.