February 5, 2014 — NOAA Fisheries and the states of California, Maryland and Washington have agreed through an exchange of letters that their individual state shark finning laws are consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
In the United States since 2000, federal law has prohibited “shark finning,” a process of removing shark fins at sea and discarding the rest of the shark. But, shark conservation was further strengthened in 2010 when Congress passed the Shark Conservation Act, amending the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). The Shark Conservation Act requires that all sharks in the United States, with one exception, be brought to shore with their fins naturally attached.
NOAA published a proposed rule last spring to revise existing shark fishing regulations to be consistent with current law. This rule enables sustainably managed shark fisheries while eliminating the harmful practice of finning.
"The proposed rule included a statement about preemption of state laws, if those laws were inconsistent with the MSA. We included this language because eleven states and territories have enacted their own shark finning laws, each of which takes a slightly different approach to shark conservation and management," says NOAA.