California - Bill to ban shark fin trade hits Senate floor

Local authorities, approve a bill to ban the sale, trade or possession of shark fins. The issue was very sensitive as some Asian cultural circles, shark fin soup has been served as a festive dish for thousands of years.

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Speaking out in defence of sharks, they passed the bill with cross-party support. It was authored by Paul Fong, who portrays the shark situation as dire:

“Shark populations are so depleted that they face extinction. Actions and practices that are wreaking havoc and degrading underwater ecosystems must be halted. The findings are clear and no one needs to be convinced that sharks are in serious trouble.”

Critics of the bill argue that there are already adequate regulations and protections in federal law, and that simply hunting sharks for their fins is illegal in US waters. The situation in international waters, however, is a different story. The bill is intended to cover the state of California because, outside of Asia, it is the largest market for the shark fin trade.

Some opponents of the bill, point out that the legislation goes too far, going so far as to dictate what California residents can and cannot eat.

“This is the first time that a law has banned the sale of a particular food product,” – says Fiona Ma, who argued against the introduction of the new law.

Some, however, argue that the law does not protect sharks sufficiently and the bill should go even further, as it is still possible to trade finless sharks in California.

Shark fin soup is an expensive delicacy. It costs about $80 per serving, while the price of the fin itself is in the region of $1200 per kg. According to advocates, the shark fin trade costs the lives of 73 million sharks every year. Chinese NBA basketball star Yao Ming has lent his support to tougher laws against the practice. The legal regulation, which should come into force on 1 January 2013, will now go to the Senate for final consideration.

We have already written about the dramatic situation of sharks several times, for those who have not had the opportunity to read these publications we provide links to our archives: “How many sharks are killed each year?”, “To Help Sharks – AWARE Project Shark”, “California Academy of Sciences meeting on shark conservation”

Source: www.xray-mag.com
Photo: gadget dude/flickr