The Government is proposing to bring forward a total ban on the finning of dead sharks by two years in response to widespread public concern about the gruesome practice.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith originally planned to ban finning of all shark species, except blue sharks, by October 2015.
The ban on removing blue sharks' fins would have begun in October 2016.
This led to an outcry by conservation groups because blue shark was the species most affected by the finning practice.