Close the Loopholes on Shark Finning: write your Congressman

[Sharkfilms]

Great news! The US is closing the loophole that allows sharks to be landed without their fins in the US and will make transporting fins - like the recent King Diamond bust where the perpetrators got off- illegal.

If you want to learn more about threats to sharks: see Shark Stewards of the Reef. Sharkstewards.com

The House of Representatives recently passed the Shark Conservation Act of 2008, which makes it illegal for U.S. fishermen to slice off sharks' fins at sea.

However, the Shark Conservation Act of 2008 will not become law unless it is also passed in the Senate. The House bill, S. 3231 will improve existing laws that were originally intended to prevent shark finning and will continue to foster shark conservation.

Time is running out for this session of Congress. Tell the Senate to protect sharks too!!!

Send a letter to your Senator today and ask for fast action to pass a true shark finning ban. Or sign a petition

<a href=" http://oceana.democracyinaction.org/o/209/t/7238/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25161">petition</a>.



This is an example of what your letter can say; do not forget to include your name and address, or at least your zip code.



Dear Senator ___________:I am writing you to urge you to vote yes for S.3231, the Shark Conservation Act of 2008, to make it illegal to fin a shark at sea.

I am very concerned about the practice of shark finning, in which fishermen around the world pull tens of millions of sharks on deck and crudely slice off their fins. They throw the sharks overboard, now finless, to sink to the ocean floor where they drown or bleed to death.

Sharks are highly vulnerable to pressure from human activities because of their slow growth and low reproductive potential.

Congress passed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act in 2000 to end shark finning in U.S. waters. But shark finning is still occurring. The current law is enforced by requiring that shark landings meet a 5% fins to body weight ratio, thus allowing fins to be separated from the shark at sea. Discarding of carcasses at sea and high-grading, or mixing and matching of carcasses and fins at sea are ways to get around the law. The easiest way to end these practices is to require that sharks are landed with their fins naturally attached. The Shark Conservation Act of 2008 does just that.

S. 3231, the Shark Conservation Act of 2008, would improve shark fishery management and promote shark conservation in U.S. waters and beyond. I urge you to vote yes on this bill.

Name:

Last Name:

Adress:

Zip code:

e-mail:

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Be aware, that since 9/11, the Coast Guard has come under Homeland Security. This has taken away much needed resouces to protect our waters and sanctuaries from illegal fishing. NOAA has been sacrificed also which is loosing more funding for continued research and enforcment. We all need to get with our leasdership to put money back into the protection of all of our waterways. Terrorists come in many forms, so we need to keep pushing for our tax dollars to be spent in these areas.

Carolyn:sharks:

 

[Oceana Diver]

Carolyn,

Thanks for the post! This is an exciting piece of legislation, and we hope it goes to a Senate vote before the end of the year. The more emails and letters senators receive, the more likely a vote becomes since it lets them know that sharks are an important issue to their constituents. So please follow the link and take action for sharks.