Huge News: A Ban on the Trade of Shark Fins Set to be Signed into Law

EAT

Dec 19

Although shark finning - the process of removing shark fins and discarding the rest of the body back into the water- is prohibited in the United States, much of the trade in fins occurs in the US. Now, this new legislation will help protect sharks from slaughter.

Animal campaigners are celebrating a long-awaited victory for sharks as the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act passes the U.S. Senate by a vote of 83-11.

The move will prohibit the commercial trade of shark fins and products containing shark fins in the United States. The legislative reforms are part of the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7776) and will now go to President Joe Biden for his signature.

“This is a monumental and long-awaited win for shark species and marine ecosystems across the globe,” said Susan Millward, executive director of the Animal Welfare Institute. “These remarkable apex predators have existed for hundreds of millions of years, yet the global demand for shark fins has contributed to the decimation of shark populations in just a few decades.

“The passage of the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act removes the United States as a major transit hub of shark fins, and reaffirms the United States’ leadership in shark conservation.”

Around 73 million sharks are slaughtered for their fins every year, mostly for use in shark fin soup, with the international fin trade driving many of these top predators to extinction. To obtain these fins, fishermen slice them off live sharks before throwing the animals back into the sea to drown, starve, be eaten alive by other predators, or die of blood loss. This practice is known as ‘finning’.

Although shark finning is prohibited in U.S.-controlled waters, prior to these new legislative reforms, seventeen states and three U.S. territories had passed laws banning or limiting trade in shark fins. In the remaining states, shark fin can still be found on restaurant menus and grocery store shelves, with many of these fins imported from unregulated waters and countries that have ineffective shark finning bans.

The U.S. also serves as a key transportation hub, with unfettered shark fin shipments frequently passing through U.S. ports. Some nations in Central America transport up to one-third to one-half of their shark fin exports through U.S. ports.

“Sharks are worth more alive than in a bowl of soup. The shark fin trade, and wildlife trafficking broadly, have menacing implications not just for animal welfare and conservation, but also for global security, given the corrupt and destabilizing influence of the criminal networks involved,” said Sara Amundson, president of Humane Society Legislative Fund. “The NDAA’s inclusion of this measure to end U.S. commerce in shark fins supports our nation’s strategic defense, enhancing the protection of wild animals and the establishment of a safer and better world for us all.”

Shark populations around the world are decreasing, some by more than 90 percent, and the shark fin trade is one of the main causes. The decimation of sharks harms the marine environment, as they serve an important role by maintaining ecological balance in oceans, according to campaigners.

First introduced in 2016, standalone Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act bills were sponsored in the Senate (S. 1106) by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and in the House (H.R. 2811) by Del. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, D-Northern Mariana Islands, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

After passing the House in the 116th Congress, the shark fin bill first passed both the House and Senate earlier in the 117th Congress as a provision in a much larger bill, called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S. 1260) in the Senate and the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 4521) in the House. However, this bill and many others were not included in the final law. At long last, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act has crossed its last hurdle before being signed into law.

“This victory is the capstone of almost a decade of work to pass federal legislation to end the United States’ participation in the cruel and ecologically damaging global shark fin trade,” said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “We owe so much gratitude to Sens. Booker and Capito, and Reps. Sablan and McCaul, for leading the charge to protect these important animals who are vital to the health of ocean ecosystems.”

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