Shark Finning - H.R. 81: International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act

[Scared Silly]

I was following this bill and was amazed that it got through the Senate last month:

H.R. 81: International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act (GovTrack.us)

It looks to be on its way to the President's desk for signature.

Now if we could only go further with Hawaii's law.

 

[Jewls]

I am still a little confused by Hawaii's law. I posted in their forum

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii-ohana/329925-hawaii-voting-ban-sale-shark-fins-2.html

Only one response so far. It sounds like the bill passed, but I'm still unsure if the regulations started July 2010 or will start July 2011. There are still loopholes though, and shark fin soup will still be available. Fishermen will not be able to leave behind the bodies of the finned sharks in the water. They will need to bring the shark on-board to land, with fins intact in order to account for the number and type of sharks being killed. IMO, sharks are still allowed to be hunted and killed, thus not conserving the sharks, but taking a "number" for how many are killed and where the fins/ bodies are going. Is there a regulation of how many sharks can be killed in one day or by each boat? What does this really do for conservation of the shark species? There really is no way to know how many sharks are being dumped back into the ocean after finning. The fishermen can & will keep a certain amount of "kill" to report, so that they can continue with their lifestyle, while unregulated numbers of shark can be thrown back into the ocean without anyone knowing. Who's monitoring all of this???Really, whats the point unless WE restrict shark finning / hunting altogether...PERIOD.