Following pressure from local wildlife activists, Cathay Pacific Airways announced a long-awaited ban on the carriage of shark fin on its aircrafts today, with immediate effect.
The company has come under fire from prominent conservation groups for allowing shark fin to be shipped on its flights, with a petition launched last month garnering over 3,000 signatures.
Jessica Henderson, who started the petition, called “sustainable shark fin” a “total impossibility”.
“Over 35 airlines have now gone shark free,” the letter read, “and it’s time for Cathay Pacific to do the same!”
CX’s full press release
Reception to the ban has been overwhelmingly positive on social media so far, with Gary Stokes, the Asia director for marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd, praising the airline for “seeing the light” and “listening to public opinion”.
Likewise, environmental NGO WildAid “commended and applauded” the airline for “taking positive action”.
Previously, the airline had only allowed “sustainably sourced shark products”, saying that it had “rejected all 15 shipment requests for shark-related products in the last 12 months” for failing sustainability checks in a press release.
“We were one of the first airlines in the world to raise awareness of the unsustainability of the global shark trade,” Cathay highlighted. Despite this, the airline says that they “understand the community’s desire to promote responsible and sustainable marine sourcing practices,” and therefore implemented the new ban.
While Cathay made headlines for banning shark fin from its in-flight menus in 2009, it had been criticised for continuing to carry shark fin and other shark-related products on its flights.
Photo: Cathay Pacific via Twitter
As recently as June 10, Cathay Pacific’s official stance on the matter was that “sustainable shark product shipments” were a viable alternative to “outright bans”, which “experts” had told them would “send trade underground”.
We share your concerns, and have not approved any shark/shark product shipments in the past year. (1/2)
— Cathay Pacific (@cathaypacific) June 3, 2016
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