U.S. government issues shark finning ban in Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico waters
Previous federal regulations required only that fins and carcasses be brought to dock in a specific ratio, allowing shark fins to be cut off at sea.
The new fins-attached landing policy, part of Amendment 2 to the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fisheries Management Plan, will aid conservation by facilitating species identification and data collection and by ensuring that fishermen are not engaged in shark finning at sea. It also includes an 85 percent reduction in fishing for sandbar sharks.
Although the benefits of the new rules are significant, the rules do not go far enough in protecting other large coastal shark species, including porbeagle and great hammerhead sharks, which are still being targeted by fishermen despite scientific evidence that their populations are in trouble. In fact, the status of 10 of the 11 large coastal sharks allowed for catch is now considered unknown, even though previous NMFS assessments stated that this entire group of sharks was overfished. The new rules also fail to require hard limits on bycatch for struggling shark species such as the dusky.
Because of their role as apex predators, removal of large sharks from the ocean ecosystem can cause drastic and irreversible damage to our oceans. Sharks are in peril around the world from overfishing, driven in large part by the lucrative trade in shark fins.
For statistics on shark attacks, a top 10 list of myths abouts sharks, tips for avoiding shark bites and to learn more about Oceana's campaign to protect sharks, please visit http://www.oceana.org/sharks.
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- jefftego
- added this
- added June 23, 2008
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Shark finning is just gross. Taking the fins is not the issue. The issue is taking the fins and tossing the shark back in. That's beyond cruel. Kill the freakin shark and use the rest or give it to someone that will. Tossing it back in is just unnecessary. The shark eats fish and kills them. They don't go around and nit pick the fish.
Give it the same respect.
And may this new rule do some help in keeping the numbers at a reasonable level.
And may the people that each such fins get mercury poisoning and die painfully like the shark. it is only fair in the circle of life or lack there of.
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J_Jammer, great point about respect. Cutting off the fin and throwing the shark back to a slow painful death is just cruel.
I think that we also need to have some rules about not taking younger sharks so we can keep their populations sustainable. Sharks mature slowly and don't reproduce a lot. If we take too many young ones, their numbers will continue to plummet.
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that's a great suggestion. Because if they kill the ones that have yet to mate they are ruining their own money making machine they so want to keep.
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This might make the business a little less lucrative for the fishermen. Instead of being able to "harvest" 200 shark fins and throw them in the hold, now they have to bring the entire shark back to shore. I wonder how many full sharks fit in the average boat hold?
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100 Million sharks are killed annually for their fins.
