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FLORIDA: Cortez fishers sound alarm on shark depredation

July 16, 2024 โ€” A discussion has surfaced in Cortez where commercial fishers say they are reeling in the consequences of federal legislation aimed at conserving shark populations.

They say a 2011 law created hardships and they now are grappling with depredation issues caused by more frequent encounters with apex predators due to higher populations.

The Shark Conservation Act of 2011 was intended to improve shark conservation in the United States. The law amended the Magnusonโ€“Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 and the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act of 1992 and provides, in part, that sharks caught in U.S. waters must be brought to shore with fins naturally attached.

Shark finning, banned in many parts of the world, involves cutting off fins and discarding the fish, sometimes still alive. The fins often are used as an aphrodisiac or for soup that can cost up to $100 per bowl.

With protective legislation and bans in effect for more than a decade, fishers now say there are too many sharks.

โ€œRegulation is good but a complete stop is too extreme,โ€ said Nate Meschelle, a Cortez commercial captain, who spoke to The Islander July 11.

Read the full article at The Islander

US House passes bill banning sale of shark fins

November 26, 2019 โ€” A bill that prohibits people from selling or buying shark fins cleared its first hurdle in Congress last week.

H.R. 737, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Gregorio Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands) and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), passed 310-107 on Wednesday 20 November.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

U.S. House Passes Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act

November 25, 2019 โ€” The U.S. House has passed the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, H.R. 737, led by U.S. Reps. Gregorio Sablan (D-NM) and Michael McCaul (R-TX).

The act prohibits the import, export, possession, trade and distribution of shark fins or products containing shark fins, and it was passed by a margin of 310 to 107. U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) also introduced a companion bill that the Senate Commerce Committee has already approved.

The act of shark finning and possession of shark fins aboard a vessel is currently prohibited in U.S. waters under the 2010 Shark Conservation Act, but the law does not stop the domestic trade in their parts.

Read the full story at the Maritime Executive

House Sends Darren Sotoโ€™s Billfish Bill to the Presidentโ€™s Desk

June 27, 2018 โ€” On Monday, the U.S. House passed without opposition freshman U.S. Rep. Darren Sotoโ€™s, D-Fla., proposal limiting the sale of billfish caught by American vessels and giving the U.S. Commerce secretary more authority to  manage Atlantic highly migratory species.

Soto introduced his proposal back in December and it was backed by the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee last week.

โ€œUnder current law, billfish caught by U.S. vessels that land in Hawaii or Pacific Insular Areas (American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island) may be sold and exported to non-U.S. markets or transported to other U.S. markets,โ€ Sotoโ€™s office noted about the legislation. โ€œThis bill requires billfish caught by U.S. vessels that land in Hawaii or Pacific Insular Areas to be retained for sale in those areas. This strikes a balance between preserving traditional cultural fishing in these areas and the overall intent to prevent large scale commercial fishing of these billfish.

โ€œMoreover, the bill clarifies that there is no language in the Shark Conservation Act (SCA) of 2010 that alters existing authority of the Secretary of Commerce to manage Atlantic highly migratory species under the Magnuson-Stevens Act,โ€ Sotoโ€™s office added. โ€œIt also cleans up language in the SCA by removing an expired offset. The main goal of this fix is to ensure protection against shark finning.โ€

Read the full story at Sunshine State News

Shark Week Comes Early This Year

April 17, 2018 โ€” The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources: 

Today at 1:00pm the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans will hold a legislative hearing on three bills including H.R. 5248, the bipartisan Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act, (Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla.), and H.R. 1456, the bipartisan Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2017, (Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif.).

Debunking the Shark Finning Myth:

Shark finning is the brutal practice of removing a sharkโ€™s fin(s) at sea and returning the carcass, dead or alive, to the ocean. Despite what you may believe, shark finning in the United States is illegal. Todayโ€™s debate isnโ€™t whether the act of shark finning is heinous or reprehensibleโ€ฆ it is, and members of both parties and industry agree.

After the enactment of the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 and the Shark Conservation Act in 2010, shark fisheries in U.S. waters have been successfully and sustainably managed. In fact, according to NOAA, there has been a dramatic increase in shark population over the past decade. With that said, as with any other industry, there comes the need for balance. Shark fisheries are valuable contributors to the U.S. economy. Due to the success of the nationโ€™s fisheries management and conservation, the U.S. ranks as one of the top-ten shark fishing nations in the world.

So Whatโ€™s the Issue? And Whatโ€™s the Solution?

While shark finning is almost universally banned, some countries still do not have or effectively enforce shark finning bans. While all can agree that this is unacceptable, there are two different approaches to fixing the problem: imposing additional regulations on U.S. fishermen to stem the tide of trade of inhumanely obtained shark fins (H.R. 1456) or to leverage access to U.S. markets to encourage foreign nations to adopt strong shark conservation measures (H.R. 5248).

Unintentional Consequences of Overregulating *Already Regulated* Fisheries:

While we all agree that the illegal trade of inhumanely obtained shark fins needs to be address, it must be done in a way that doesnโ€™t penalize those that follow the rules.

One of todayโ€™s witnesses Alan Risenhoover, Director of the Office of Sustainable Fishers under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lays it on the table: โ€œWe cannot support the Shark Fin Sale Elimination Act (H.R. 1456) because the billโ€™s negative impact on U.S. fishermen would outweigh its minimal benefit to shark conservation.  The United States currently has effective laws and associated regulations that prevent shark finning and sustainably manages its fisheries.  As written, this bill does not meet its intent to improve the conservation and management of domestically harvested sharks.  It prohibits the possession and sale of shark fins.  This would hurt  U.S. fishermen who currently harvest and sell sharks and shark fins in a sustainable manner under strict federal management.  Furthermore, the bill does not significantly curb international trade in shark fins where the majority of trade in shark fins occurs.โ€

Imposing stricter regulations or removing sustainably sourced U.S. shark fins off the market could shift demand to bad actors and pave the way for a black market, unregulated supply. Nobody wants that.

Learn more at their website here.

 

ENGOs Renew Push for Shark Trade Elimination Act Passage; Industry, Scientists Push Back

May 16, 2017 โ€” SEAFOOD NEWS โ€” Like sharks in a feeding frenzy, a group of scientists, students and Oceana are circling, renewing their push to pass the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act, threatening sustainable U.S shark fisheries. The scientists and ENGOs also say sharks are in decline.

On the other side, the Sustainable Shark Alliance, a U.S. seafood industry trade group, opposes the legislation. Itโ€™s unnecessary, they say, wonโ€™t make a dent in the global shark trade and ultimately penalize responsible fishermen.

โ€œOceana presents a false choice between a sustainable domestic shark fishery and other uses, such as tourism,โ€ Shaun Gehan, a lawyer for the Sustainable Shark Alliance, said in a statement. โ€œUniversity and federal studies alike show growing domestic populations.โ€

The practice of shark finning, using only the fins and releasing the shark, has been banned in the U.S. since 1993. Some states have passed legislation banning trade of some shark parts or some species.

โ€œThe Shark Finning Prohibition Act ended the brutal practice of finning, the removal of the sharksโ€™ fins while discarding their bodies at sea, and the Shark Conservation Act eventually closed some of its loopholes ensuring that sharks are landed with their fins naturally attached to their bodies,โ€ the scientists wrote in their May 9 letter to Congress. โ€œHowever, the United States continues to allow the buying and selling of fins. Five of the 11 countries that export shark fins to the U.S. do not prohibit shark finning. Therefore, while the U.S. bans shark finning in its own waters, it indirectly promotes this practice elsewhere and perpetuates the global trade in shark fins.โ€

Alliance members and other scientists counter that the Shark Trade Elimination Act will, by removing sustainably sourced shark parts, result in the increase of illegal trade of shark fins.

โ€œOceana and their partners are grossly misinformed and are misinforming the public,โ€ said Bob Jones, Executive Director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association. โ€œThe U.S. shark fishery is the most sustainably run shark fishery in the world. Oceana should be promoting the responsible practices of the fishery instead of working to dismantle it.โ€

Dr. David Shiffman, a renowned shark conservation biologist, also is against the proposed legislation and wrote about it on the marine science and conservation blog Southern Fried Science.

โ€œShark fin trade bans do not allow for a sustainable supply of shark fins to enter the marketplace, punishing American fishermen who are doing it right,โ€ Shiffman wrote. โ€œSustainable trade is incompatible with a total ban on trade, at least in the same place and time. The United States has some of the most sustainable managed shark fisheries on Earth. When these fisheries provide fins to the marketplace, it shows that fins can absolutely come from a well-managed shark fishery.โ€

Moreover, using the sustainably managed U.S. shark fisheries as examples would be better in the long run when the U.S. is negotiating with other countries, Shiffman said.

โ€œThis can be an important example for international fisheries negotiations and associated advocacy (e.g., โ€˜the United States manages their shark fisheries well, and so can you, hereโ€™s how.โ€™),โ€ Shiffman wrote. โ€œAccording to Dr. Robert Hueter of Mote Marine Laboratory, a nationwide ban on the shark fin trade โ€˜will cause the demise of a legal domestic industry that is showing the rest of the world how to utilize sharks in a responsible, sustainable way.โ€™ (And yes, sustainable shark fisheries absolutely can exist and do exist, although there are certainly many more examples of unsustainable shark fisheries.)โ€

While not affecting illegal international shark populations, the bill will hurt U.S. shark fishermen who play by the rules. It will force fishermen to dispose of shark fins on every shark they catch, which currently account for 50 percent of a sharkโ€™s value. Proper management can only occur when U.S. shark fisheries are allowed to collect the full value of their catch โ€“ without this revenue, shark fisheries will not be able to afford fuel costs and will cease to exist, the Alliance said in the statement.

โ€œOur members are struck by the intolerance of the proponents of this campaign. It is clear that they are indifferent to the potential loss of income. I guess the livelihoods of fishing families are insignificant to the folks who support Oceanaโ€™s agenda,โ€ said Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director of the Garden State Seafood Association.

Other respected shark scientists have come out in opposition to the legislation as well, including Dr. Robert E. Hueter. Hueter is the Director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota Florida, and has more than 40 years of experience in shark research.

โ€œThis bill will do nothing to effectively combat the practice of finning on the high seas and in other countries, where the real problem lies, and it will not significantly reduce mortality of the sharks killed in global fisheries every year,โ€ Hueter wrote in a letter to Congress.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

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