The US Senate has just passed a Shark Regulation Act, which is awaiting decision on the Full House (whatever the hell that means, can only assume it means ‘tbc’ or something) that makes it illegal to remove sharks’ fins at sea.
This is quite a big move, as loopholes in the previous protection act (which basically had to do with the weight of fins, and was open to a lot of cheating) meant that there was no real control of the number of sharks that were definned and left to die at the bottom of the ocean. The number of sharks killed this way each year goes into the tens of millions, mind-bloggling indeed – and it’s not just Chinese fishing crew who are cashing in on this, it’s the western world as well. A law like this Shark Regulation Act could do a lot to control the numbers… but is it really all that helpful when finning is still legal in itself?
Yes, this may keep the numbers somewhere in the single millions or less, but it still doesn’t do much to protect sharks from being killed in the first place, and with the black market always offering an easy way out of any control act, will this law stop fishermen from finning at sea illegally anyway?
Whatever the case, this is still a step forward, and as consumers there are ways we can help.
Check out the Help Stop Shark Finning page at Humane Society International, and sign the pledge.
Just remember what public noise did for the seals people, signing these things really makes a difference.
[...] So shark conservation and shark finning is quite a big deal for me. I’ve posted before on how laws are slowly starting to attempt to prevent or control finning, but while ignorant consumers are still happily devouring shark fin soap and taking shark cartilage tablets for bone strengthening, and I’m talking western and eastern here, the problem will continue. [...]