WASHINGTON — November 12, 2013 — West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller, in a letter to NOAA Acting Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, has criticized a proposed rule from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that would invalidate several state laws banning the possession or sale of shark fins. According to Sen. Rockefeller, NMFS's proposal results from "interpreting the Shark Conservation Act in a way that is contrary to the intent of Congress."
The Act, passed in 2010 as an amendment to the Magunson-Stevens Act governing fisheries management, enhances federal efforts against illegal shark finning, a practice where a shark's fin is removed while the shark is returned to the ocean, either already dead or to die shortly thereafter. Shark fins are still allowed to legally be sold under this law, but only if the entire shark is landed as well. According to NMFS, efforts by states like Hawaii and California that would ban the sale of otherwise-legal shark fins is inconsistent with both the Shark Conservation Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and would be preempted by federal law.
In his letter, Sen. Rockefeller counters that the state laws are consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act definitions of "conservation and management," particular in allowing for measures "which are required to rebuild, restore, or maintain, and which are useful in rebuilding, restoring, or maintaining, any fishery resource and the marine environment." According to Sen. Rockefeller, these laws meet that criteria because they "promote the return of sharks as a keystone species in ocean ecosystem." Sen. Rockefeller also argues that the Magnuson-Stevens Act does not prevent states from passing their own regulations governing their own waters, citing language stating "nothing in this Act shall be construed as extending or diminishing the jurisdiction or authority of any State within its boundaries." Because of this, Sen. Rockefeller states that NMFS should not allow the state anti-shark finning laws to be preempted by federal law.
Read the letter from Sen. Rockefeller here