That's one small step for sharks...

Senate Committee Passes Bill to End Shark Finning in U.S.

WASHINGTON, November 19, 2009 - Oceana commends the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee today for passing the Shark Conservation Act of 2009.

"Shark management in the U.S. has suffered for long enough," said Beth Lowell, federal policy director at Oceana. "It's time to enact this shark finning bill into law."

The Act would require all sharks caught in U.S. waters to be landed whole with their fins still attached. This would put an end to shark finning, the wasteful process of cutting off the fins and discarding the carcass at sea.

Landing sharks with their fins still attached allows for better enforcement and data collection for stock assessments and quota monitoring. The Act would also close a loophole that allows the transfer of fins at sea as a way to get around current law. Additionally, the bill would allow the United States to take action against countries whose shark finning restrictions are not as strenuous.

"Finning is threatening shark populations worldwide," said Elizabeth Griffin, marine scientist at Oceana. "The U.S. should be a leader in helping to solve the problem of shark finning."

The Act was introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) in April. Similar legislation (H.R. 81), introduced by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), passed the House of Representatives in March.

ABOUT SHARKS:

Sharks have been swimming the world's oceans since before the age of the dinosaur, but today some species face extinction. Each year, commercial fishing kills more than 100 million sharks worldwide - including tens of millions for just their fins. Sharks are especially vulnerable to pressure from human activities because of their slow growth and low reproductive potential.

Sharks can be found in almost every ocean and play a vital role in maintaining the health of the oceans. Many shark populations have declined to levels where they are unable to perform their roles as top predators in the ecosystem, causing drastic and possibly irreversible damage to the oceans. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, more than half of the highly migratory shark species are now considered overexploited or depleted.

For more information about Oceana's campaign to safeguard sharks, please visit www.oceana.org/sharks.

Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world's oceans. Our teams of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates win specific and concrete policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent the irreversible collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life. Global in scope and dedicated to conservation, Oceana has campaigners based in North America, Europe and South America. For more information, please visit www.Oceana.org.

4m Croc Eats Leprechaun Shark Study

Barramundi, Australia - Shark researchers at the North West Fisheries Laboratory near the Wildman River, 100km east of Darwin, discovered a 4.2 meter saltwater croc in their ponds today devouring a rare shark species under study.

"We are the only laboratory in the region studying the endemic Leprechaun Shark (Triaenodon Leprechus) and this croc finished off the lot of them", said Ann Roman spokesperson for the lab.

The Leprechaun shark is a native freshwater shark similar to the bull shark and is named after a green bio luminescent gel it excretes. The species was discovered in the Wildman River basin in 1936. Researchers in Australia think the bio luminescent gel might have commercial applications and have been studying this shark at the Wildman River lab for the past four years. It is the only known shark species to excrete a gel.

"When we arrived at the lab this morning we noticed a thrashing around in the 4 hectare pen, that's when this great huge croc reared up with a 1 meter shark in its jaws. By the time we got a team in there the crocs mouth was stained green and it had finished off most of our control group. Given how rare the Leprechaun shark is in Australia, this is a real set back".

Efforts to remove the massive croc by Department of Fish and Resources personnel have met with little success.



The following Underwater Onion was brought to you by Shark Diver. Sometimes the "pot of gold" at the end of a story remains elusive, happy St. Patricks Day;)