The Commission has proposed that from now on, all vessels fishing in EU waters and all EU vessels fishing anywhere in the world will have to land sharks with the fins still attached. Shark finning is the practice of cutting off the fins of sharks – often while they are still alive - and then throwing back into the sea the shark without its fins.

The European Commission wants to forbid with no exemptions, the practice of 'shark finning' aboard fishing vessels. Shark finning is the practice of cutting off the fins of sharks – often while they are still alive - and then throwing back into the sea the shark without its fins. In order to facilitate storage and handling onboard vessels, fishermen will be permitted to slice partly through each fin and fold it against the carcass of the shark. The aim of the new rules is to better protect vulnerable shark populations across the world's oceans. In 2009, the Commission already presented an Action Plan to protect the sharks.

The existing 2003 Regulation on banning shark finning generally bans finning, but allows by exemption and under certain conditions, to remove fins aboard and to land fins and shark carcasses in different ports, but the weight of the fins must not exceed 5% of the live weight of the sharks caught. The proposed regulation will affect the most the Spanish and Portuguese freezer vessels because these countries issue most permits for on-board processing. Allowing partially slicing the fins and folding them against the carcass, answers the fishing sector's valid concerns with regard to storage and handling.

The EU committed itself to adopt all measures necessary for the conservation of sharks and to minimise waste and discards from shark catches throughout several international commitments such as the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and in particular the International Plan of Action on Sharks (IPOA-Sharks) adopted by the FAO in 1999. The FAO IPOA is the basis for the 2009 Commission Communication on the European Community Action Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.