News International & Trade Japan and China Help Defeat Shark Conservation Proposal at UN Meeting |
Japan and China Help Defeat Shark Conservation Proposal at UN Meeting |
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China, Japan, Russia and a handful of other countries are at the heart of a defeat of a proposal that would have benefited sharks by requiring increased transparency in the shark trade.
Finning - the practice of cutting off just the fins of sharks and throwing the rest of the shark, often still alive, back overboard for a slow death and wasteful treatment of a food source - is responsible for killing somewhere between 40 million and 100 million sharks per year (the latest estimate from Oceana is 73 million per year). No one really knows because the practice isn't well tracked, and is often done illegally. So while the species collapses, the members of the UN meeting on shark conservation debate and ultimately make zero progress to protect one of the most important animals in our oceans. The defeat of this measure - far less controversial and easier to enforce than others on the table at the week-long meeting - is a bad sign for our oceans, and us. |
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33 Fishing Community Members Say Permit Bank, Giacalone are pluses for Gloucester
This permit bank is a true local treasure for our fishing community and related businesses. Its existence has been one of the only positive things to come to this fishing community in decades.
