[Sustain] Shark Fin Ban Becomes Law!

[Eric Brooks]

http://na.oceana.org/en/blog/2011/10/victory-west-coast-shark-fin-ban-complete?akid=2198.816964.AgbV37&rd=1&t=2&utm_campaign=sharks&utm_medium=mailing&utm_source=mailling

Oceana: The Beacon


      Victory! West Coast Shark Fin Ban Complete
      <http://na.oceana.org/en/blog/2011/10/victory-west-coast-shark-fin-ban-complete>

Posted Fri, Oct 7, 2011 by Emily Fisher

oceanic whitetip shark

At last, the good news you've been waiting for: California Governor 
Jerry Brown has signed a bill banning the trade of shark fins.

California has joined the ranks of Washington State, Oregon and Hawaii, 
who have all passed similar bans. Oceana supported this legislation from 
the beginning, and we are thrilled that Governor Brown has passed it 
into law, completing a West Coast ban.

Each year, tens of millions of sharks 
<http://na.oceana.org/en/our-work/protect-marine-wildlife/sharks/overview> 
are killed for their fins, mostly to make shark fin soup. In this 
wasteful and cruel practice, a shark’s fins are sliced off while at sea 
and the remainder of the animal is thrown back into the water to die. 
Without fins, sharks bleed to death, drown, or are eaten by other 
species. In recent decades some shark populations have declined by as 
much as 99%.

Removing sharks from ocean ecosystems can destabilize the ocean food web 
and even lead to declines in populations of other species, including 
commercially-caught fish and shellfish species lower in the food web. 
While shark finning is illegal in the U.S., current federal laws banning 
the practice do not address the issue of the shark fin trade, so shark 
fins are imported to the U.S. from countries with few or even no shark 
protections in place.

“Today is a landmark day for shark conservation around the globe” said 
Susan Murray, Oceana’s Senior Pacific Director. “The leadership shown by 
legislatures and governors of California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii 
sends a strong message that the entire US West Coast will no longer play 
a role in the global practice of shark finning that is pushing many 
shark species to the brink of extinction.”

*A huge thanks to everyone who called your legislators and Governor 
Brown and helped secure this enormous victory for our oceans' top 
predators!*

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