Saving Seafood

Shark fin soup may soon be illegal in New Jersey. It’s now up to Murphy.

December 2, 2019 — New Jersey is now one step away from becoming the latest state to outlaw shark fins — a move conservationists say is crucial to help some shark species from going extinct but others warn will unfairly penalize fishermen in the Garden State.

The Democratic-sponsored measure would prohibit the harvesting, sale, trade, distribution, and possession of shark fins in the state.

It’s now up to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy to decide whether to it sign it into law after both houses of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature passed the measure.

If he does, New Jersey would become the 13th state to enact such a ban.

Supporters say the goal is to cut down on shark finning, in which fishermen cut off a shark’s fin and dump the animal back into the water while it’s still alive. The shark then dies, often slowly.

According to estimates by the Humane Society of America, 72 million sharks die each year because of the practice.

The fins are often used for shark fin soup, a delicacy in China and other East Asian countries for hundreds of generations. It’s frequently served at banquets and weddings and has long been seen as a symbol of status.

Read the full story at NJ.com

NEW JERSEY: Legislature Succumbs to Humane Society’s Misinformation Campaign Against Sustainable Shark Fishing

November 25, 2019 — The following was released by the Garden State Seafood Association:

The Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA) is disappointed with the passage of Assembly Bill A4845/S2905 today, which would prohibit the possession, sale, or trade of legally harvested shark fins in New Jersey.

The U.S. Humane Society and environmental organizations have been pursuing this anti- conservation legislation for many years. The bill prohibits the sale and trade of shark fins under the guise of stopping “shark finning.” The commercial sector and U.S. fisheries passed a law nearly 20 years ago making shark finning and the sale of those fins illegal across the country and in all U.S. territorial waters.

GSSA is certain that existing federal laws prevent any sale of illegal shark fins in New Jersey.

“All this legislation does is to penalize legitimate, hard working fishermen of the state,” said Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director of GSSA. “Instead of acknowledging the leadership of our commercial industry, which operates a globally-recognized sustainable shark fishery, those supporting this legislation will penalize New Jersey fishermen, forcing them to discard a natural resource for no purpose.”

“This legislation rewards illegal poachers in underdeveloped and less-regulated nations by removing sustainable harvested fins from the world market,” said Scot Mackey, Legislative Agent for GSSA. “It will only increase the value of the fins these poachers will continue to harvest, while preventing our well-managed and sustainable shark fisheries from utilizing the whole animal.”

U.S. House Passes Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act

November 25, 2019 — The U.S. House has passed the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, H.R. 737, led by U.S. Reps. Gregorio Sablan (D-NM) and Michael McCaul (R-TX).

The act prohibits the import, export, possession, trade and distribution of shark fins or products containing shark fins, and it was passed by a margin of 310 to 107. U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) also introduced a companion bill that the Senate Commerce Committee has already approved.

The act of shark finning and possession of shark fins aboard a vessel is currently prohibited in U.S. waters under the 2010 Shark Conservation Act, but the law does not stop the domestic trade in their parts.

Read the full story at the Maritime Executive

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