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Urge the Senate to protect sharks

Each year, over 100 million sharks are killed. In 2000, the United States enacted the Shark Finning Prohibition Act, a positive step towards protecting sharks. The intent of this law was to stop the practice of finning sharks, but finning still occurred through some technicalities.

The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850) aims to end shark finning once and for all. The act would require sharks be landed with their fins attached, thus providing a true shark finning ban as was originally intended. This bill has already passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting action in the Senate.

There is still time to conserve sharks, but we need to act now.

November 21, 2009

Subject:

Dear Senator,

Sharks have been swimming in the world’s oceans for more than 400 million years. Many shark species hold the top position in the ocean food chain, and therefore, play a critical role in the ocean. While sharks have been able to survive periods of global mass extinctions, they have not evolved to withstand overfishing by humans. The increased catch of these top predators has resulted in devastating changes throughout the world oceans.

The growing demand for shark products, especially for shark fins, has led to drastic declines in shark populations around the world. Some populations have declined by as much as 99% in the past 35 years.

The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850) is awaiting action in the U.S. Senate. This bill would require that sharks be landed with their fins still attached. This would solve enforcement issues and facilitate better data collection for use in stock assessments and quota monitoring. It also closes a loophole on the transfer of fins at sea, which allowed some bad actors to circumvent the current law. Additionally, the bill allows the U.S. to take actions against countries that have weaker protections for sharks.

Sharks are in trouble and we cannot afford to lose such a vital part of the world's oceans.  Please support the S. 850, the Shark Conservation Act. The oceans depend on it.

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Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans

Take Action

Urge the Senate to protect sharks