Saving Seafood

Extinction bites: countries agree to protect sharks and rays

August 26, 2019 — Countries have agreed to protect more than a dozen shark species at risk of extinction, in a move aimed at conserving some of the ocean’s most awe-inspiring creatures who have themselves become prey to commercial fishing and the Chinese appetite for shark fin soup.

Three proposals covering the international trade of 18 types of mako sharks, wedgefishes and guitarfishes each passed with a needed two-thirds majority in a committee of the World Wildlife Conference known as CITES on Sunday.

“Today we are one step closer to protecting the fastest shark in the ocean, as well as the most threatened,” said Jen Sawada, who directs The Pew Charitable Trusts’ shark conservation work. The measures don’t ban fishing these sharks and rays, but any trade must be sustainable.

The move isn’t final but is a key sign before an official decision at its plenary this coming week.

Read the full story at The Associated Press

Dr. David Shiffman talks shark conservation at DC’s Profs and Pints

August 16, 2019 — At Washington DC’s regular Profs and Pints discussion series, shark expert Dr. David Shiffman shared shark facts, while discussing shark conservation and the threats currently faced by sharks. The talk brought a scientific perspective to some of the most debated topics in shark conservation, including managing sustainable shark fisheries and the efficacy of shark fin bans.

A major focus of the talk was on proposals in the U.S. that would ban the sale of legally caught shark fins, a subject of a recent paper co-authored by. Dr. Shiffman. Noting that the practice of shark finning—the removal of fins from sharks at sea—has long been illegal in the United States, and that the U.S. has some of the best managed shark fisheries in the world, Dr. Shiffman is critical of the idea that a ban would be useful for shark conservation.

“Banning a sustainable fishery here does not do anything to stop an unsustainable similar fishery somewhere else,” he said. “If we are not involved in the market we have no way to influence the market directly.”

Instead, the best way for the U.S. to combat unsustainable practices is to serve as a model for good shark management worldwide. A bill introduced in Congress, the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act, would take this approach, requiring all shark products sold in the U.S. to come from sustainable fisheries, and providing support to improve global shark fishing practices.

Dr. Shiffman also noted during the talk that these unsustainable fishing practices globally are a far greater threat to sharks than shark finning. However, he added that these fisheries can be approved by adopting more sustainable management, and that several shark fisheries, many of which are in the U.S., are already well-managed.

“Sustainable shark fisheries can and do exist,” he said.

Profs and Pints is a regular speaker series that “brings college faculty members into bars, cafés, company offices, and other off-campus venues to share their knowledge.” It regularly hosts events in Washington, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, and Philadelphia.

 

Savannah leads in shark fin exports

August 12, 2019 — For the last five years the port of Savannah has been the U.S. leader in the export of fresh shark fins, a legal but controversial trade item essential for shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy.

Last year, more than 18,000 pounds of shark fins, valued at about $808,000 was exported from Savannah. All of it was shipped to Hong Kong. (While Savannah led in the value of shark fins exported, a larger amount of fins, at nearly 37,000 pounds, was shipped out of Galveston, Texas.)

“Savannah is the No. 1 exporter of shark fins in the United States,” said Cathy Liss, president of the nonprofit Animal Welfare Institute. “Georgia plays an unfortunate role in the lucrative, billion-dollar shark fin trade. As long as we continue to provide a marketplace for shark fin products, the United States, including Georgia, will undoubtedly contribute to the destruction of shark populations.”

Read the full story at The Savannah Morning News

The Fight Over Shark Fins in Florida

August 6, 2019 — The fight for sharks is converging on Florida.

With the new legislative session next in September, conservation groups are pushing for measures at both the state and federal level to ban one of the largest threats to the shark population – the fin trade.

Between 100 million and 200 million sharks are killed every year. An estimated 73 million of those are killed for their fins.

“The shark fin trade is a global market for shark fins,” Trish Albano, a shark researcher at the University of Miami’s Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, told NBC 6 South Florida. “The shark fin is being used to make shark fin soup.”

Read the full story at NBC 6

Shark-finning incidents of Hawaii island raise alarm

August 1, 2019 — Marine biologists say they are alarmed by recent shark finning incidents on Hawaii island, citing photographs of two oceanic whitetip sharks lacking fins and still alive, and that of a dead, gutted whitetip reef shark.

Oceanic whitetip sharks are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and dive tour operators reported seeing two off the coast of West Hawaii that were still alive but their fins had been removed off coast.

“Shark finning is not a new phenomenon, but the recent number of incidents is concerning,” said Stacia Marcoux, a Fish and Habitat Monitoring Technician with the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources. “This is especially true for the threatened oceanic whitetip. We hope that once people see these photos they will join us in condemning and discouraging this kind of activity regardless of its legality.”

Read the full story at the Honolulu Star Advertiser

Canada becomes first G20 country to ban trade in shark fins

June 20, 2019 — Canada passed a new law banning the import and export of shark fins, which also includes a requirement to rebuild depleted fish populations.

The new Fisheries Act, approved late on Tuesday, was hailed by environmental and conservation groups as a win for the preservation of fish habitats and for the shark population. Canada has become the first G20 country to ban the export and import of shark fins, said Josh Laughren, executive director of Oceana Canada, a private conservation group.

“With all laws, how they’re implemented matters, but there’s no question this has the potential to be transformative for how we manage Canada’s oceans,” Laughren said.

Read the full story at Reuters

Sustainable Shark Alliance: Setting the Record Straight on Sharks for Ocean Week

June 5, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Shark Alliance:

This week, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) is convening Capitol Hill Ocean Week in Washington, D.C. Additionally, President Trump has declared the month of June “National Ocean Month” in recognition of the importance of the ocean to the economy, national security, and environment of the United States.

For the duration of Ocean Week, Saving Seafood will share materials related to the sustainable and economically vital U.S. commercial fishing and seafood industries, including information tied directly to events being organized as part of the NMSF conference.

Today at 2:45 p.m. EDT, as part of Capitol Hill Ocean Week, there will be a panel “The State of Shark and Ray Conservation.” The following was released by the Sustainable Shark Alliance in advance of the panel:

With shark conservation one of the many issues being discussed at this year’s Capitol Hill Ocean Week, the Sustainable Shark Alliance (SSA) thinks it’s important to have a fact-based conversation about sharks. A recent interview given by SSA to Channel News Asia highlights the importance of sustainable domestic shark fisheries, and demonstrates why bills being considered by Congress would harm responsible U.S. fishermen, without benefiting global shark conservation.

SSA has long opposed attempts to punish law-abiding U.S. shark fishermen by banning the sale of responsibly harvested shark fins, which is what proposed legislation like the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act (SFSEA) would do. As SSA’s Rick Marks states in his interview, the U.S. represents less than one percent of the world shark fin market; banning the sale of shark fins here would not impact the global shark trade.

“It will have no effect on global shark conservation and will only harm law-abiding U.S. fishermen,” he stated in the interview.

Instead, SSA has advocated for more practical solutions, like the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act (SSFTA). SSFTA creates a transparent certification program for countries seeking to import shark products into the United States. Countries involved in the U.S. shark and ray market must have an effective prohibition on the reprehensible and wasteful practice of shark finning, and have shark and ray management policies comparable to those under the U.S. Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Facts are important in the shark conservation debate, but the reality of U.S. shark fishing is often lost in the discussion. In 2017, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D, NJ) dramatically inflated the number of incidences of illegal shark finning in U.S. waters, based on a footnote error in a NOAA document. While the Senator claimed that there were over 500 incidences in a 10-year period, the actual number was only 85. Shark finning has been illegal in U.S. waters since 2000.

This confusion has continued into the current debate. At a hearing in March, Linda McCaul of EarthEcho International, the wife of Texas Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, testified on behalf of SFSEA. Wearing her Congressional spouse pin, she delivered testimony including several pictures of shark fins and the aftermath of shark finning. However, several of the photos were taken overseas, not in the United States. They may reflect the horrific practice of shark finning as it occurs abroad, but they have no relationship to legal and sustainable shark fishing is practiced in the U.S., and should not have been used as evidence of an alleged need to restrict a well-managed domestic fishery.

SSA’s full interview with Channel News Asia is available here. More information on SSA’s support for the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act is available here.

FLORIDA: Marco Rubio Reintroduces the Sustainable Shark and Fisheries Trade Act

April 9, 2019 — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has brought back his proposal for the U.S. Commerce Department to increase regulation on the international shark trade.

Last week, Rubio teamed up with Republican U.S. Sens.  Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, to bring back the “Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act.”

The bill “would require any country that seeks to export shark, ray, and skate to the US to first demonstrate it has a system of science-based management to prevent overfishing and a prohibition on the practice of shark finning” and ensure other nations “must also receive certification from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that its fisheries management policies are on par with US practices” and modifies the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act.

“U.S. shark populations are growing because of years of sustainable management, benefiting ocean ecosystems, as well as coastal economies via fishing, trade, and tourism,” Rubio said. “My bill would extend successful U.S. shark conservation and humane harvesting standards to our global trading partners, helping to protect international shark populations as well. In doing so, we can save millions of sharks from being finned at sea, and preserve the livelihoods of commercial fishermen in Florida and throughout the U.S. who continue to fish in accordance with strong federal and state fisheries management laws.”

Read the full story at the Sunshine State News

Rubio Reintroduces Bipartisan Bill to Promote U.S. Shark Conservation as a Global Model of Sustainability

April 3, 2019 — The following was released by the office of Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL):

Today, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) reintroduced the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act (S. 1008), bicameral legislation that recognizes the sustainable and economically-valuable fishing practices of U.S. shark fishermen and promotes U.S. standards for shark conservation and humane harvest abroad. U.S. Representative Daniel Webster (R-FL) has introduced similar legislation (H.R. 788) in the House.

“U.S. shark populations are growing because of years of sustainable management, benefitting ocean ecosystems, as well as coastal economies via fishing, trade, and tourism,” Rubio said. “My bill would extend successful U.S. shark conservation and humane harvesting standards to our global trading partners, helping to protect international shark populations as well. In doing so, we can save millions of sharks from being finned at sea, and preserve the livelihoods of commercial fishermen in Florida and throughout the U.S. who continue to fish in accordance with strong federal and state fisheries management laws.

“Our nation is a leader in sustainable fisheries management. While the practice of shark finning is already banned in U.S. waters, America does have a small population of fishermen who legally harvest whole sharks for their meat, oil, and other products. To address the global problem of shark finning, it is important for us to set an example for other nations by requiring their shark fisheries to be sustainably managed,” said Murkowski. “This legislation sets a strong policy example for other nations that wish to prevent shark finning in their waters, while protecting the rights of American fisherman that operate in legal and well-regulated shark fisheries, and supporting the efforts of shark conservationists. By supporting other nations as they work to eradicate the cruel practice of shark finning, we can find solutions to protect our fisheries, our communities, and marine ecosystems worldwide.”

Rubio first introduced the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act last Congress, and
the Senate Commerce Committee approved the legislation shortly after.

Specifically, the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act would:

  • Create a shark conservation and trade fairness certification for nations wishing to import shark products to the U.S.;
  • Prohibit the importation of shark products originating from any nation without a certification, and the possession of such products in the U.S. with limited exceptions for law enforcement, subsistence harvest, education, conservation, or scientific research;
  • Update the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act to reflect the U.S. commitment to promote international agreements that encourage the adoption of shark conservation and management measures and measures to prevent shark finning that are consistent with the International Plan of Action for Conservation and Management of Sharks;
  • Direct the Secretary of Commerce to include rays and skates into the seafood traceability program to ensure that shark products are not smuggled into the U.S. falsely labeled as rays and skates, two closely related groups.

 

Banning Shark Fin Sales Not Effective Conservation Tool, Sustainable Shark Alliance Tells Congress

March 26, 2019 — The following was released by the Sustainable Shark Alliance:

Banning the domestic sale of shark fins will be less effective for global shark conservation than legal, regulated shark fishing, according to testimony from the Sustainable Shark Alliance (SSA), delivered today before a House panel.

Shaun Gehan, testifying on behalf of SSA before the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, voiced SSA’s opposition to H.R. 737, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act. Instead, SSA, which represents shark fishermen, dealers, and processors, expressed its support for H.R. 788, the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act.

Mr. Gehan was quick to point out in his prepared remarks that opposition to H.R. 737 is not based on a difference of opinion on the troubling practice of shark finning, which he testified is an “abhorrent and unsustainable” practice that “wastes an important source of low-cost protein that can feed growing populations.” Rather, SSA opposes H.R. 737 because, by banning the sale of legally caught shark fins that are not inhumanely harvested, it will not effectively promote global shark conservation.

“Sustainably-sourced fins from our well-managed fishery will be replaced by those from bad actors. Only American fishermen, abiding by the world’s strictest shark conservation laws, and sharks in unmanaged waters will suffer,” he said.

NOAA has expressed similar concerns with the legislation. Last year, Alan Risenhoover, Director of NOAA’s Office of Sustainable Fisheries, told the same subcommittee that “we cannot support the Shark Fin Sale Elimination Act because the bill’s negative impact on U.S. fishermen would outweigh its minimal benefit to shark conservation,” adding, “this would hurt U.S. fishermen who currently harvest and sell sharks and shark fins in a sustainable manner under strict federal management.”

SSA supports H.R. 788, which “leverages the power of the U.S. market to ‘export’ the best management practices of our country.” Rather than banning the sale of all shark fins, H.R. 788 requires all shark products that are imported into the U.S. come from fisheries that meet the same high standards as U.S. fisheries. This means that not only must they come from sharks that are not finned, but that they must also come from shark fisheries that are managed sustainably.

H.R. 788 promotes high standards of shark conservation at a global level, while, just as importantly, preserves increasingly important American shark fisheries.

“Not only do shark harvests provide an important source of income for American fishermen and their communities, but growing shark populations are rapidly increasing natural mortality on such important food and game fish as red snapper and grouper species, not to mention increasing predation on whales and marine mammals,” Mr. Gehan said.

Unfortunately, the subcommittee did not consider H.R. 788 at today’s hearing, instead focusing on a bill that will harm many constituents in coastal communities without providing meaningful shark conservation. SSA urges the subcommittee to reconsider H.R. 788 as a better alternative.

About the Sustainable Shark Alliance

The Sustainable Shark Alliance (SSA) is a coalition of shark fishermen and seafood dealers that advocates for sustainable U.S. shark fisheries and supports well-managed and healthy shark populations. The SSA stands behind U.S. shark fisheries as global leaders in successful shark management and conservation. The SSA is a member of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities.