A bill to end the USA shark fin trade reintroduced by Representatives Sablan and McCaul passed through the Congress with a strong bipartisan majority Thursday.
House lawmakers passed the measure that would ban buying and selling shark fins in the United States and help the country fight illegal fishing and overfishing sharks. As part of the huge National Defense Authorization Act HR 776, the “END Wildlife Trafficking Act” includes the shark fin sale provision.
Read MoreIn a surprising decision, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission has outlawed shark lines and wire leaders, both of which are used by industrial-scale fishers targeting sharks and leading to major declines in Pacific shark populations.
Read MoreThe 16th meeting of the WCPFC is taking place on 5-11 December in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and we are urging member states in attendance to fight for sharks and rays that are harvested in the Pacific.
Banning wire leaders and shark lines would reduce fishing mortality of oceanic whitetips by 40.5%, and that of silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis), another threatened species, by 30.8%, according to research cited in the WCPFC proposal.
Read MoreSharks and Rays Receive Appendix II Listing at CITES-CoP19
We just made history protecting sharks at CoP19 in Panama by bringing Requiem sharks (including blue sharks), all hammerhead sharks, freshwater rays, and small guitarfish under protection from the international shark meat and fin trade.
Yesterday history was made protecting sharks at the the 19th Coalition of the Parties at Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Panama where 184 governments and conservationist Parties convened to consider applying major trade protections for plants and animals in the wildlife trade.
Read MoreOn November 4 at around 10 Am, an ocean swimmer was bitten in the thigh by what is believed to be a juvenile white shark (aka great white sharks Carcharodon carcharias) off the coast of Del Mar in San Diego County.
This is the 8th confirmed incident in California in 2022 between San Diego and Humboldt Counties
Humpback whales steam among the fish, spouts blowing in the wind as they forage in the waves. We find the whales often feeding in or close to the shipping lane. Each year as many as 200,000 ships enter and exit the Golden Gate, and according to the Point Blue Conservation Science as many as 83 humpback, blue and fin whales are killed by ships on the West Coast each year.
Read MoreSharks: The Elders of the OceanChristina Briegleb Dinosaurs have long fascinated scientists, eager children, and curious adults alike. As relicts of the past, they have captivated our imagination and we […]
Read MoreJoin our Friends at Only One Expressing your Support to List 3 Families of sharks and Rays
An upcoming vote at the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) at CoP19 November among over 180 nations could protect endangered sharks from the shark fin trade Please you add your name to this letter urging world leaders to end the shark fin trade driving the decline of many species of sharks.
On November 10 shark survivor turned shark champion Maria Korcmaros of Shark Stewards will be hosting their 5th annual Run 4 Sharks and Ocean Health Fair at Newport Dunes in Newport Beach California.
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