As part of a commitment made to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) earlier this year, UASC has prohibited the carriage of shark fin and shark fin related products.
WWF estimates that overfishing of sharks has led to around one quarter of the world’s shark species to be under threat. Sharks play a pivotal role in marine ecosystems and their disappearance can have severe consequences on the marine environment. The demand for shark fin as a delicacy is one of the key reasons for over-fishing.
UASC is one of sixteen global carriers that have committed to upholding a policy of not carrying commodities declared as ‘shark fin.’ A week ago, Cosco Shipping announced that it will ban all shark fin shipments.
Environmental group WildAid says that the commitments of 17 container shipping lines and 34 airlines have intensified scrutiny of American multinational courier FedEx, which has yet to commit to a “No Shark Fin” carriage policy despite intense pressure. UPS, FedEx’s chief industry rival, banned shark fin shipments nearly a year ago.
Source: UASC
