Federal Shark Fin Ban

We have never been so close!

A study published in Nature last year found that global oceanic shark and ray populations have declined by more than 70% over the last 50 years, with overfishing as the primary cause.

The sale of shark fins provides motivation for overfishing and shark finning, inhumane and unsustainable practice of removing a shark’s fins at sea and throwing its body back overboard where it drowns, starves to death, or is eaten alive by other fish. Fins from as many as 73 million sharks end up in the global market every year.

Although shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, fins can still be bought and sold throughout much of the United States. These fins are often imported from countries that have inadequate protections in place for sharks such as China, which still allows shark finning to take place in its waters. Not only are there fins from finned sharks in the U.S. marketplace, but the United States is also providing an economic incentive for other countries to fish for sharks in ways that are illegal in U.S. waters.

The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate passed the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which includes a ban on the buying and selling of shark fins in the United States, among other ocean conservation provisions. The bill also provides the U.S. government with more tools to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please send a note to the President today urging him to support this and to stop and shark fin trade in the United States! Asking representatives to do so, will close the final loopholes that exist among the current patchwork of 13 states and 3 territories that have already banned shark finning. The bill would also be a big step forward in making the United States a leader in shark conservation.

Let’s Get This Done!