http://na.oceana.org/en/blog/2011/10/victory-west-coast-shark-fin-ban-comple... 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!*
