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<font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="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">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</a></font><br>
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Oceana: The Beacon
<h3><a
href="http://na.oceana.org/en/blog/2011/10/victory-west-coast-shark-fin-ban-complete">Victory!
West Coast Shark Fin Ban Complete</a></h3>
<p class="byline">Posted Fri, Oct 7, 2011 by Emily Fisher </p>
<div class="blogPhoto"> <img class="imagefield
imagefield-field_photo" alt="oceanic whitetip shark"
src="cid:part1.08090204.03000101@aim.com" height="301"
width="450"></div>
<p>At last, the good news you've been waiting for: California
Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill banning the trade of shark
fins.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Each year, tens of millions of <a title="Sharks: Overview"
href="http://na.oceana.org/en/our-work/protect-marine-wildlife/sharks/overview">sharks</a>
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%.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p><strong>A huge thanks to everyone who called your legislators and
Governor Brown and helped secure this enormous victory for our
oceans' top predators!</strong></p>
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