SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — June 28, 2013 — Several members of Congress representing coastal states are voicing concern about a proposed federal regulation that could pre-empt state bans on buying or selling shark fins.
Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California is being joined by representatives of New York, Florida and Guam in seeking changes to a proposal they say would take away a state tool to protect shark populations.
John Whiteside, an attorney for Sustainable Fisheries Association, a Massachusetts nonprofit founded by four seafood processors, said the federal government should have the final say over regulations, especially fish caught in federal waters.
Not doing so would violate trade laws and run afoul of treaties the federal government has with governments around the world, he said. Commercial fishing groups were successful at getting exemptions in some states for certain species of sharks, such as the dogfish, a small shark also used for fish and chips that is sustainably harvested.
However, California provides no such exemption.
‘‘You’re building a wall around the state of California from which the free flow of legal goods is forbidden,’’ he said. ‘‘If you have these states around the country that build these little islands, you can’t have the free flow of commerce and that’s what this country needs.’’
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