Since 2006 Shark Stewards has been a leader in the United States reducing the shark fin trade by applying trade data to legislation banning the sale and trade of shark fin.
In 2016 we supported banning the trade in Rhode Island. In 2017 we lead the bill to stop the trade of shark fin and manta gills in Nevada, which became the became the 12th US State to ban the sale and trade of shark fin. In 2019 we supported the successful New Jersey shark fin trade ban. We also supported the Florida shark fin trade ban early on with Shark Allies through our SE Florida chapter leading to the 14th state to ban the sale and trade of shark fin. Our sites are set to reduce overfishing and the trade of shark fins globally by starting in the USA, and focusing our efforts in the major trade and consumption hubs of SE Asia.
SHARKS ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE WORLDWIDE AND NEED YOUR HELP.
Shark finning is the abhorrent and wasteful practice of cutting off a shark’s fins and discarding the body, often still alive, back into the ocean to drown or bleed to death. However, this is only part of the problem. Sharks are being overfished globally, largely driven by the demand for shark fin to make shark fin soup. The shark fin trade in the U.S. contributes to plummeting shark populations across the world.
The National Marine Fisheries Service Fisheries Statistics and Economics Division indicate that nearly 15,000 tons of shark fins were exported from the US to mainland China in 2014. Although the US is a minor part of the global trade, shark fin consumption and exports to Asia exacerbate the problem and add to the overall threat of sharks survival.
Globally shark populations are on the decline. 25% of all sharks and rays are threatened with extinction. Sharks are being overfished and the shark fin trade is threatening large species of sharks such as blue sharks with extinction.
Shark finning is illegal in US waters, but fins from sharks finned on the high seas, caught illegally or unsustainably by other nations can still be imported into most US states and then sold domestically and exported overseas. Many countries do not have laws against shark finning laws, or like Mexico rarely enforce them, threatening migratory species. Shark finners or unregulated shark fisheries are profiting by trading through US ports. Help stop the slaughter by reducing the demand for this unnecessary luxury and helping halt the shark fin trade.
Stopping the import exports and domestic consumption of this unsustainable product will help save the world’s sharks.
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