COURTESY MOTE MARINE LABT
The proposed Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2017, currently being considered by Congress, is supported by a number of conservation groups. This bill proposes to eliminate all trade in shark fins within the U.S. to solve the problem of global shark declines. As someone with more than 40 years of experience in shark science and conservation, I am dedicated to the cause of rebuilding our depleted shark populations. But I believe that banning the sale of fins within the U.S. will be ineffective in protecting sharks.
Robert HueterCOURTESY MOTE MARINE LABThe proposed Act states that “no person shall possess, transport, offer for sale, sell, or purchase shark fins or products containing shark fins,” with a few specific exceptions. The Act is not focused on shark “finning,” which is the inhumane, wasteful practice of removing a shark’s fins at sea and tossing the animal back to die. Finning has been illegal in U.S. waters since the 1990s.
These days, U.S. shark fisheries are managed carefully for sustainability, based on scientific ...
