Conservationists are calling New Zealand's participation in the global shark fin trade "outrageous," highlighting a stark gap between the country's clean-green brand and its actual marine conservation policies.
Despite cultivating an image as an environmental leader, New Zealand continues to allow commercial fishing practices that fuel demand for shark fins across Asia, where the delicacy commands premium prices in restaurants from Hong Kong to Singapore.
According to Stuff, the criticism centers on New Zealand's fishing regulations, which allow sharks to be caught, finned, and exported—a practice that conservation groups say is devastating shark populations across the Pacific.
Mate, the Pacific's shark populations matter—and not just for tourism. Sharks are apex predators that maintain the health of entire marine ecosystems. Remove them, and you get cascading effects: fish populations explode and crash, reef systems degrade, and the balance that's existed for millions of years collapses.
The global shark fin trade kills an estimated 73 million sharks annually, according to marine researchers. Fins are removed and the bodies often discarded at sea—a wasteful practice banned in many jurisdictions but still legal in various forms elsewhere.
New Zealand's involvement is particularly contentious given the country's international positioning. The government promotes Aotearoa as a leader in marine conservation, with extensive marine reserves and strong rhetoric about protecting ocean ecosystems. But when it comes to sharks, the economic interests of the fishing industry appear to outweigh conservation priorities.
Conservationists are demanding New Zealand follow the lead of countries like Australia, which has imposed strict regulations on shark fishing and banned the export of shark fins. Australia's policies aren't perfect, but they reflect a recognition that shark populations are in crisis and that Pacific nations have a responsibility to protect marine ecosystems.
The economic argument for allowing shark fishing is thin. Shark fin exports represent a tiny fraction of New Zealand's fishing industry revenue. The reputational damage to the country's environmental brand, however, is substantial. New Zealand markets itself to tourists and international partners as clean and green—a claim that becomes harder to defend when the country is implicated in practices that devastate marine life.
The controversy also touches on Pacific regional politics. Many Pacific Island nations depend on healthy shark populations for tourism and as cultural icons. Shark diving generates significant revenue in places like Fiji and Palau, where a single reef shark can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over its lifetime through tourism—far more than its fins would fetch at market.
Palau established the world's first shark sanctuary in 2009, banning all commercial shark fishing in its waters. Fiji, French Polynesia, and other Pacific nations have followed suit, recognizing that living sharks are worth more than dead ones.
New Zealand's position puts it at odds with its Pacific neighbors and undermines regional efforts to protect shared marine resources. The Pacific Ocean isn't divided by borders—shark populations migrate across vast distances, and conservation efforts require coordination.
Environmentalists are calling for a complete ban on shark finning and the export of shark products from New Zealand. They argue that incremental regulations haven't worked, and that only a comprehensive prohibition will align New Zealand's policies with its environmental rhetoric.
The government has so far resisted these calls, citing the need to balance conservation with fishing industry interests. But that balance is increasingly difficult to justify as global shark populations decline and the scientific consensus on the need for protection strengthens.
This is about whether New Zealand will live up to its clean-green brand or continue policies that contradict it. The shark fin trade is a legacy of a different era, when ocean resources seemed limitless and the environmental costs were ignored. We know better now.
For New Zealand, a country that depends on its environmental reputation for tourism, trade, and diplomatic influence, continuing to participate in the shark fin trade is not just ecologically destructive—it's strategically foolish.
The Pacific's sharks are in trouble. The question is whether New Zealand will be part of the solution or continue to be part of the problem.
