Keeping Shark Fins on their Rightful Owners

Following passage of the Shark Conservation Act (H.R. 81) in the US House of Representatives earlier this year, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced a Senate companion bill (S. 850) to firmly close loopholes in the 2000 ban against shark finning in US waters.

The urgent need for action is evidenced by a recent survey conducted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which revealed that a third of deep-sea sharks and rays face extinction, due mainly to the global demand for their fins and meat. The great white, basking, oceanic whitetip and hammerhead sharks are some of the species that have experienced drastic declines.