Background:
Over 70 million sharks are killed annually, and many shark species are considered overfished. Sharks are fished for sport, caught as bycatch, and hunted for their fins in a practice called shark finning.
Endangerment of shark populations will destabilize the ocean food web, causing shark prey populations, previously kept in check - to flourish. To aid in shark conservation and demonstrate the importance of sharks to the U.S., the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 was introduced and passed the House of Representatives and is now under consideration by a Senate committee.
What Is the Shark Conservation Act of 2009?:
The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 seeks to eliminate the practice of shark finning in the U.S. Sharks can still be fished, but sharks can only be aboard a fishing vessel whole and with the fin naturally attached. This will decrease incentive for shark finning, which usually involves discarding the shark's less-valuable body at sea and causing waste of about 95% of the shark.
The Act will also support conservation of sharks worldwide by encouraging other countries to develop shark conservation programs and reduce shark finning.
Shark Conservation Act - Bill Progress:
- January 2009 - Bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives
- March 2009 - Passed the House by a voice vote.
- April 2009 - Companion bill introduced into the Senate. Passed on to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee. The committee discharged the bill to the full Senate in December 2010.
- December 2010 - The bill was amended to allow finning in North Carolina’s dogfish fishery, a compromise that was necessary to obtain the vote of the NC Senator Richard Burr. This bill passed the Senate.
- President Obama signed the bill into law on January 4, 2011.
