The 11-tonne haul, located in a warehouse at Huelva, was destined for Hong Kong for the making of shark-fin soup and other products, said police.
According to Singapore’s Straits Times, the fins were calculated to have an export value of around 137,000 euros.
Landed at a harbour in north-western Spain’s Galicia region, the fins appeared not to have come from a protected species. But it was not clear whether or not the haul would have been legal in terms of fin-to-carcass ratios defined by EU law.
The probability of the catch being illicit was high, however, given that the warehouse in which it was found was not licensed to store or export shark fins. The haul was confiscated for this reason, pending further investigation.
According to The Straits Times, EU countries together make up the largest exporter of sharks to Chinese markets.
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