Senate passes bill to restrict U.S. shark fin trading

Senate passes bill to restrict U.S. shark fin trading

By Andrew Restuccia

The Senate passed legislation Monday to put restrictions on shark fin trading in the United States.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), closes a number of loopholes in a ban on shark finning imposed by then-President Clinton.

While the House has already passed a version of the bill, it still needs to approve the Senate version, because Kerry’s office made a number of technical changes to the legislation. A Kerry spokeswoman says the senator is “hopeful” the House will pass the bill before the end of the session.

Shark fins, used in Chinese shark fin soup, have become a valuable commodity in recent years. But activists warn shark finning could have dire consequences for both sharks and the temperamental ocean ecosystem.

“Shark finning has fueled massive population declines and irreversible disruption of our oceans. Finally we’ve come through with a tough approach to tackle this serious threat to our marine life,” Kerry said in a statement.

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Washington, DC - 12/20/2010 - Matt Rand, director of the Pew Environment Group’s Global Shark Conservation Campaign, issued the following statement today in response to the U.S. Senate passing the Shark Conservation Act, which was introduced by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).

“The Senate has acted decisively today to help protect sharks, the predators at the top of the global marine food chain. The Shark Conservation Act would once and for all end the practice of shark finning in U.S. waters and give the United States the credibility to persuade other nations and international fishery managers to follow suit.

“Sharks are in serious trouble. An estimated 73 million are killed every year primarily to support the global shark fin trade. 30 percent of the world’s species are threatened or near threatened with extinction. Some populations, such as scalloped hammerheads and dusky sharks along the eastern U.S. coast, have plummeted by as much as 80 percent since the 1970s.

“As our marine environment becomes more and more threatened, we need further safeguards to keep ecosystems and top predator populations healthy. Domestic protections alone will not save sharks. The U.S. should use this act to bolster its position when negotiating for increased international protections.”

“We commend the sponsor of this bill, Senator John Kerry, as well as Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller and Senator Olympia Snowe for their assistance in passing this important legislation. We also thank Delegate Madeleine Bordallo of Guam for her sponsorship of the House version of this bill.”

BACKGROUND

1. Statistics on shark populations obtained from:



S. Clarke, et al., “Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets,” Ecology Letters, 9:10, Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS, 2006, pp. 1115-1126, www.iccs.org.uk/papers/Clarke2006EcologyLetters.pdf
International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Shark Specialist Group, http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/ssg_pelagic_report_final.pdf
J. Baum, et al., “Collapse and Conservation of Shark Populations in the Northwest Atlantic,” Science 17 January 2003 299: 389-392, http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/299/5605/389.pdf
2. The House of Representatives passed an earlier version of the bill by unanimous consent in April 2009 but would have to pass an updated version.

Kerry Teams Up With “Shark Week”

Joins Discovery Channel in National Campaign to End Shark Finning

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today announced his partnership with the Discovery Channel to help end the illegal practice of shark finning and promote shark protection.

Throughout “Shark Week,” the channel’s week-long programming dedicated to these creatures, Discovery will run public service announcements to promote shark education and awareness, while creating a conservancy guide and online petition at Discovery.com to encourage grassroots support for Kerry’s Shark Conservation Act.

“Shark finning has fueled massive population declines and irreversible disruption of our oceans,” said Sen. Kerry. “We need much stronger solutions to finally end this illicit trade. We can do more, and I’m thrilled to see Discovery Channel’s willingness to roll up its sleeves and help us get the job done.”

This is Senator Kerry’s second year sponsoring “Shark Week.” Earlier today, Discovery President and General Manager Clark Bunting wrote Kerry to again endorse the Senator’s legislation.

The full text of the Discovery Channel’s letter to Sen. Kerry is below:

July 7, 2010
Senator John Kerry
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Kerry:

Each year, more than 100 million sharks around the world are killed due to commercial fishing – including tens of millions just for their fins. The demand for shark fins, meat, liver oil and other products is driving numerous shark populations to the brink of extinction.

Populations of several shark species found in U.S. waters have declined by more than 97% in recent decades. Now, to make matters worse, the oil spilling into the northern Gulf of Mexico is threatening an important habitat area for several shark species, including whale, thresher, hammerhead and tiger sharks.

Sharks play a vital role in ecosystems, maintaining the balance of life in the ocean. Scientists warn that removing sharks will cause irreversible damage to our oceans and the species that inhabit them.

For this reason, Discovery Channel is once again supporting The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850). We applaud you for introducing this critical legislation to help strengthen the U.S. ban on shark finning, improve shark fisheries data and encourage international shark conservation. We also applaud the House of Representatives for passing this legislation by voice vote in March 2009.

. .. . Discovery’s SHARK WEEK, now in its 23rd year, has become a perennial favorite among viewers who want to learn more about this powerful and often misunderstood creature. SHARK WEEK, which premieres this year on August 1, highlights historical shark events, scientific findings and little known behavior with compelling footage and storytelling.

. . ..

Again, thank you for your leadership on this critical issue. We look forward to working with you to strengthen domestic shark protections and promote shark conservation around the globe.

Sincerely,

Clark Bunting
President & General Manager, Discovery Channel and President, Science Channel

But the general message of the Discovery programming tends to be that sharks are fearsome man-eaters.