Oregon approves ban on sale of shark fin - Loophole?

The Oregon senate approved a bill that would ban shark fin sales in the state with a titanic caveat, otherwise known as a loophole.

The bill makes an exception for spiny dogfish, a small shark that accounts for 300,000 pounds in landings by commercial fishermen each year and sport fishermen with a valid license are not affected. Additionally the bill carries a paltry fine of up to $720 for violators.

So what of these shark fins and the "possessing, selling, offering for sale, trading or distributing?"

Ya like Dags Blog has pre-emptive thoughts on that and we have to agree with their final summation.

While this is great news for sharks in general and a clear win for conservation:

"It’s interesting to see the compromise of the Federal law being mirrored on a state level with a different species. I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a bigger controversy down the road."

Major exports for spiny dogfish shark fin harvested in the U.S are Asian markets.

Shark fin conservation...It's all in the loophole

Newly revealed EU loopholes allow special permits for shark finning by EU member nations.

Shark finning is banned in the EU but under present rules member states may issue special permits to exempt fishing vessels from the finning-at-sea prohibition.

Sonja Fordham of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Shark Specialist Group is calling on EU member nations to close the loophole.

As with any multi-national conservation agreements, the devil is in the fine print. Closing loopholes and enforcement are the second act to serious shark conservation efforts.

Shark Conservation - Message to Shark NGO's

For the most part the following shark conservation news went under reported by the conservation world this week.

For us this was interesting if not revolutionary news:

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- A Brazilian environmental group sued a fish exporter for $790 million Monday, alleging the firm has illegally sold the fins from 280,000 sharks since 2009 to meet demand in Asia where they are a culinary delicacy.

In Brazil, it is illegal to separate shark fins from the carcasses, and in May government agents reported finding 3.3 tons of shark fins during a single raid on the company sued by the Environmental Justice Institute.

Lawsuits vs Awareness Campaigns

A quick look around the Internet finds 95% of the shark conservation efforts focus on awareness.

That's not so surprising, as most have little to no funds to work with. We have been highlighting that problem for a while. There are however quite a few NGO's who have money, and their "awareness campaigns" ring hollow against an ongoing global shark crises.

The Environmental Justice Institute in Brazil has just fired the first shot and lead the way in what could well be a new paradigm for shark conservation. As the Environmental Justice Institute knows along with any group who's been in the shark conservation world for a while, the shark fin traffickers are not hiding. Their warehouses are not underground, their fishing fleets do not operate under cover of darkness, and for the most part they do not worry about the trade in fins.

This has to stop, and one way to make it stop is to hold the traffickers accountable for laws already on the books via lawsuits. So, the next time you see a top tier NGO asking for money for what amounts to an awareness campaign, think again.

Demand action in the form of lawsuits that target individual companies. As we have long said, the shark conservation world does not understand trade. Trade is business. Businesses can be seriously impacted when you look at the problem from the business and trade side of things.

Shark Mafia?

For too long, and thanks to some well placed and highly public media bubbles, the shark conservation world and the general public has come to believe that all shark fins, the entire trade is run by a global shark mafia. In conversations I had recently with an NGO talking about disrupting the trade I was hit with this question, "aren't you afraid they might come and do something to you?"

My response was "who are they exactly?" In my world "they" are folks like the following small company in Vietnam:

Ms Dieu Hanh
HX Export Center
405/2 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh str., Binh Thanh dist.,
Ho Chi Minhc city, Viet Nam
Tel: 848 5117992 - Fax: 848 5117829
Email: E-mail:hanhle_hxexpco@vnn.vn

You want to take down the shark fin trade, take down the trade by looking at trade from the business side.

The Environmental Justice Institute knows that shark fin companies can ill afford lawsuits and that successful prosecution of just one company will send a clear and unambiguous message to the rest.

Beats another repetitious awareness campaign any day of the week. By now even folks who get their news via rudimentary roof top carrier pigeons know there's a shark crises going on.

Kudos to The Environmental Justice Institute for the effort and the direct action lawsuit.

Note: There is one fine example of an awareness campaign that should continue to be funded and deserves note. WildAid's China campaign is about targeted awareness and over the past seven years has made serious and lasting inroads to curb shark fin use in China and Asia.

Hawaii - Shark Fin Bill 2169 and what's in it

Complete and revised Shark Fin Bill SB 2160bill here.

Add your voice to this important issue here with an email or phone call this week.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO SHARK FINS

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION

Sharks are one of the top predators in the marine food chain and play an important role in our ocean's ecosystem. Sharks have characteristics that make them more vulnerable to overfishing than most fish, and data from state, federal, and international agencies show a decline in the shark populations both locally and worldwide. Unlike other fish species, most sharks do not reach sexual maturity until seven to twelve years of age and then only give birth to a small litter of young. Thus, sharks cannot rebuild their populations quickly onnce they are overfished.

The practice of shark finning, where a shark is caught, the fin is cut off, and the shark is returned to the water, causes tens of millions of sharks to die a slow death each year. Some sharks starve to death, others are slowly eaten by other fish, and some drown, because most sharks need to keep moving to force water through their gills for oxygen. Shark fins are the principal ingredient in shark fin soup, and the demand for the delicacy has skyrocketed in recent years.

Despite state and federal laws to ban the practice of shark finning, fishers continue the practice on a massive scale. Since 1972 the number of blacktip sharks has fallen by ninety-three per cent, tiger sharks by ninety-seven per cent, and bull sharks, dusky sharks, and smooth hammerheads by ninety-nine per cent. The rapid reduction of sharks is disrupting the ocean's equilibrium.

Sharks are an essential element of the ocean's ecosystem, and by reducing the demand for shark fins, Hawaii can help ensure that sharks will not become extinct.

SECTION 2. Chapter 188, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

Shark fins; prohibited.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute shark fins.

(b) Any person violating this section or any rule adopted pursuant to this section shall be subject to:

(1) Seizure and forfeiture of shark fins; and
(2) An administrative fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $15,000. In addition, the violator may be assessed administrative fees and costs, and attorney's 1 fees and costs.
(c) The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes of this section.
(d) For the purpose of this section, "shark fin" means the raw or dried fin of a shark with the shark carcass removed."

SECTION 3. Section 188-40.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

Sharks; prohibitions; administrative penalties.

(a) No person shall knowingly harvest shark fins from the territorial waters of the State, or land shark fins in the State, unless the fins were taken from a shark landed whole in the State.
(b) Any person violating this section or any rule adopted thereunder shall be subject to:

(1) Seizure and forfeiture of shark fins, commercial marine license, vessel, and fishing equipment; and
(2) An administrative fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $15,000. In addition, the violator may be assessed administrative fees and costs, and attorney's fees and costs.

(c) Any criminal prosecution or penalty imposed for violation of this section or any rule adopted thereunder shall not preclude seizure and forfeiture pursuant to chapter 712A, or the imposition of any administrative fines and costs or attorney's fees and costs under this section.

(d) This section shall apply to the following vessels when fishing outside the territorial waters of the State:

(1) Vessels that hold a fishing license or permit issued by the State as a prerequisite to participation in the fishery, or that have owners or captains who hold a fishing license or permit issued by the State as a prerequisite to participation in the fishery;

(2) Vessels that are registered under section 200-31; or

(3) Vessels with federal documentation that lists as a homeport a location within the State;
provided that the enforcement of this section on these vessels outside the territorial waters of the State shall not apply if enforcement of this section is in violation of, or in conflict with, federal law.

(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, this section shall apply only to vessels that off-load cargo in the State or its territorial waters.

(f) As used in this section:

"Land" or "landed" means when the shark or any part thereof is first brought to shore.

"Shark fin" means the raw or dried fin of a shark with the shark carcass removed.

"Whole" means the entire shark with its head and flesh intact, allowing for the removal of the blood, internal organs, and tail at sea."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2010.

Fuchsia Dunlop BBC - Refusing Sharks Fin

The BBC has a first rate story today on the culture of shark fin soup and one woman's determination to end it's acceptance at the dinner table.

It is a classic tale of east vs west mentalities with a surprising twist at the end. The shark conservation movement may just end the practice of eating sharks fin soup "one table sized international incident" at a time:

"There was an awkward silence. My dinner companions had not heard this kind of stuff before and certainly not from me, who they know as the Englishwoman who eats everything."

Complete Story.

Brazil - Blue Shark Nursery?

With Blue shark (Prionace glauca) stocks plummeting worldwide, new discoveries like this one off the coast of Brazil might help turn the tide.

If protections can be put in place in time:

New evidence suggests a blue shark nursery exists in the Southwest Atlantic
near Southern Brazil, according to a paper accepted for publication in the
journal Fisheries Research.

Scientists Santiago Montealegre-Quijano and Carolus Vooren of the
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande monitored the composition and magnitude
of blue shark accidental catches by longline fishery operations off the
coast of Brazil. (At least something positive can come from such data.
Bycatch has really put a dent in shark populations worldwide.)

The researchers determined that large adult blue sharks were not present in
the suspected nursery region, only juveniles. Size appears to be very
important to life stage shifts in these sharks, as the small juveniles were
found to remain at the site until they reached lengths of around 4 feet or
more.

"After that stage," the scientists conclude, "the large juvenile males
disperse northwards, whereas the large juvenile females move to the south,"
and wind up going all the way to the southeast Atlantic off Africa.

The scientists added, "The subadult females move northwards in late summer
(March) to areas beyond latitude 25°S."

Complete Story

ACD Blog-Shark Conservation Act Closes Loopholes

From the guys over at A Couple Dives this week. Having the loophole closed on the sharks fin trade in US waters is a victory. Commercial fishing vessel hold space is filled quickly with the worthless shark carcass causing vessels to spend more time in port, burn fuel, pay for crews and source markets for shark meat which do not exist at this time-this is the win:

Earlier this month, the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International issued a statement thanking Congresswoman Madeleine Bardallo (Guam) for introducing legislation that would close a loophole on shark finning. Bordallo re-introduced the Shark Conservation Act (HR 81) that closes a loophole that was supposed to be taken care of by last year's HR 5741 which stalled in the Senate until their session expired. The act now requires that all sharks taken in U.S. waters must have the fins naturally attached. The new legislation alters previous legislation that currently permits a vessel to transport fins that were obtained illegally as long as the sharks were not finned aboard that vessel. Patricia Forkan, president of Humane Society International, applauded Bordallo's actions.

"Each year, tens of millions of sharks worldwide have their fins cruelly cut off at sea and are then thrown back overboard to die a lingering, painful death."

"Shark finning threatens the survival of essential marine species, and we commend Congresswoman Bordallo for addressing this cruel and wasteful practice."

Shark finning was banned in the U.S. by the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000, but enforcement is complex and the loophole allows circumvention of the law. The Shark Conservation Act must still make its way through the halls of Congress and on to the Senate for final passage and implementation. To motivate your congressperson, you can make your voice heard through Oceana.org's Wavemakers web page which will forward your personal email to your elected representative.