Big ups to Governor Jerry Brown for signing a law that made it illegal in California to trade in shark fins. With the passage of this law the entire west coast is now taking part in the ban.
Millions of sharks are killed each year to provide the fins for the Asian delicacy, shark fin soup. The practice of shark finning is extremely wasteful, the fishermen slicing the fins off and then dumping the shark back into the water where it will bleed to death.
As an article by January Jones and Andrew Sharpless point out:
"California has joined the ranks of a growing number of governments rallying to protect the top predators in the oceans. Washington State, Oregon and Hawaii have all passed similar bans. And the movement here in the U.S. reflects a global trend. The Pacific nation of Palau created a shark sanctuary two years ago, and other countries have followed suit in shark conservation efforts. As a result of Oceana's efforts, this summer Chile passed a national ban on shark finning. And most recently, Mexico and the Marshall Islands have announced plans for new shark protections.
It's encouraging to see that the momentum to protect sharks is growing around the world. Sharks are magnificent predators that have been on the planet for more than 400 million years. Shark populations around the world are crashing, which has cascading consequences on the marine food web. They play a vital role in maintaining the health of ocean ecosystems, but due to their slow growth rate and low level of reproduction, sharks are especially vulnerable to fishing pressure."
We at SurferWatch.com encourage our readers to support and assist organizations like Oceana which are working to protect our oceans and sea life.
