How is the Situation in New Zealand?

Shark finning is an issue that the government is continually trying to control in New Zealand. Like many other countries, because of the growing awareness of the consequences of shark finning, the New Zealand government made it illegal to harvest shark fins and to throw the living sharks back into the ocean in 2014. Despite enacting the law, fishers found loopholes to continue shark finning through killing the sharks before throwing them overboard as the law only covers live sharks being discarded. Many of the fishing sites around New Zealand are not monitored resulting in the existence of the loophole that the government is trying to remedy. When compared to the United States and China/Hong Kong’s shark finning policy, that of New Zealand’s is intermediary. There is more action from people to stop shark finning completely as there is more awareness and coverage of the issue spreading through the country.