EU exports of shark fins fell in 2025, with 2.7 thousand tonnes shipped to countries outside the bloc worth €44.8 million.
Export volumes dropped by 15.2% from 3.1 thousand tonnes in 2024, while the value of exports fell by 31.3% from €65.3 million, Eurostat reported on Monday.
The decline followed a surge between 2023 and 2024, when export volumes rose from 1.5 thousand tonnes to 3.1 thousand tonnes and export value increased from €34.2 million to €65.3 million.
Export volumes had fallen for four consecutive years after 2019, reaching 1.5 thousand tonnes in 2023, with COVID-19 measures slowing supply in the EU and demand in Asia.
At the end of 2023, CITES — the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — added 60 shark species to its Appendix II list, bringing them under tighter international trade controls.
Blue shark fins dominate EU exports
The EU also imported shark fins, but at much lower levels, with 20.2 tonnes brought in during 2025 worth €0.3 million, Eurostat said.
Frozen shark fins accounted for €40.3 million — 89.9% of the total export value — while fins that were smoked, dried, salted or in brine accounted for €4.2 million, or 9.3%.
Blue shark fins made up 97.2% of the EU’s trade in frozen shark fins by value, with the remainder from shortfin mako fins.
Exports went almost entirely to Asia, with Singapore and China the top destinations in 2025, accounting for 41.5% and 40.9% of export value respectively, followed by Hong Kong at 12.8%, Japan at 2.5% and Vietnam at 1.1%.
