Tag Archives: ‘‘Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016’’
Hurting US Shark Fishermen: Enviro and recreational groups lobby Congress to pass the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016
A collective composed of 80 nonprofit and conservation organizations penned and postmarked a letter to the United States Congress, asking that legislators pass the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016, in effect banning the trade of shark fins in the United States. The Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016 is supported by more than 200 businesses, non-profits, associations and scientific organizations and would help save species of sharks from going extinct. Specific supporters include the American Sportfishing Association, the Recreational Fishing Alliance, the Billfish Foundation, Guy Harvey Foundation, the International Game Fish Association, Discovery Channel, Landry’s Inc, Lokai, Sea World and many others. NGO Oceana, who also supports the ban, said it conducted a poll that found eight in 10 Americans said they supported a national ban on the purchase and sale of shark fins. (I’d like to see that poll!) Read this. Click here 16:48
The Shark Fin Ban That Should Be Banned – Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016
In the five seconds it takes to read this sentence, an estimated 16 sharks around the world have been killed. If you read on to the end of the article, that number will have risen to about 770. Every year, fishers haul up to 73 million sharks onto boats across the world’s oceans and trim their fins. In many cases, the rest of the body is thrown overboard to swim without propulsion. And without propulsion, no life-giving water flows over the sharks’ gills. They drown. This is shark finning, a cruel practice that feeds the demand for the Chinese delicacy of shark fin or fish wing soup. From boat to bowl, it is tasteless. To curb the death toll, the US Congress plans to introduce the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016. If passed, to sell or possess shark fins would be a punishable offense. It’s the ultimate protection from being made into soup. Strange, then, that people who dedicate their lives to protecting sharks are vehemently opposed to the bill. In a letter to Senator Bill Nelson, Rob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, outlines his objections. At best, it’s unnecessary, he says. At worst, it harms rather than helps shark populations. Read the story here 09:46
The Garden State Seafood Association strongly opposes the ‘‘Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016’’
Finning of sharks (the process of removing fins at sea and discarding the shark) is currently illegal in the U.S. and Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA) supports that law. The Shark Conservation Act of 2010 (SCA) prohibits any person from removing any of the fins of a shark at sea and discarding its body. The GSSA supports this law and existing associated exemptions for spiny dogfish and smooth dogfish sharks. However, there is a direct federal allowance for the sale and possession of legally-harvested shark fins regulated and supported by NOAA, the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration. Any effort to overturn this allowance at the federal level is simply not based on fact. Read the rest here 09:58
