Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
09:01
Handling and Tagging Techniques for Implanting Juvenile American Shad with a New Acoustic Microtransmitter
Published on: June 14, 2024
Global trade responses to shark finning regulations
Echelle S Burns1,2,3, Sara Orofino4, Kaiwen Wang5
1Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
Nature Communications
|July 31, 2026
Summary
Shark finning regulations show weak effects on overall trade volume. However, countries with regulations tend to decrease exports and maintain stable domestic consumption.
Area of Science:
- Marine conservation biology
- Fisheries management
- International trade analysis
Background:
- Global shark mortality is increasing despite regulatory efforts.
- Quantifying the impact of regulations on shark product markets is challenging due to data limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effects of domestic shark finning regulations on the global trade of shark products.
- To analyze trade patterns across 188 countries from 2007-2020.
Main Methods:
- Utilized causal inference methods.
- Employed the Aquatic Resource Trade in Species database (2007-2020).
Main Results:
- Found weak and statistically insignificant effects of finning regulations on overall shark trade volumes.
- Observed long-term trends indicating reduced exports and stable domestic consumption in countries with regulations.
- Noted a modest increase in imports for countries with finning regulations.
Conclusions:
- Shark finning regulations have a limited direct impact on overall trade volumes but influence trade dynamics.
- The study framework can be applied to investigate economic drivers of mortality in other traded wildlife species.
- Further research is needed to fully understand the economic pathways affecting shark populations.
