Dirk Steinke headshotThe University of Guelph has an expert who can discuss the newly amended Fisheries Act, which now bans the import and export of shark fins in Canada.

Prof. Dirk Steinke is an adjunct professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at U of G and a member of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. He studies DNA barcoding and aquatic life and is an expert on the shark fin trade.

Although shark finning in Canadian waters was outlawed in 1994, Canada has remained one of the largest importers of shark fins outside of Asia. On June 8, an amended Fisheries Act became law, with provisions that ban the import and export of fins in Canada.

Steinke recently conducted research using DNA barcoding to analyze dried shark fins and gills collected from markets. That study found that 71 per cent of the dried fins came from species listed as at-risk and therefore banned from international trade.

Steinke is available for media interviews.

Contact:
Prof. Dirk Steinke
dsteinke@uoguelph.ca

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