November 27, 2018 — A bill banning the sale of shark fins in New Jersey waters has advanced in the state legislature.
On Monday, the Senate Energy and Environment Committee unanimously passed bill S2905, which prohibits the possession and sale of shark fins. Sponsored by Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D., Burlington), the bill is meant to prevent New Jersey from contributing to the international shark fin trade.
Shark finning, seen in some Asian countries, is a practice in which fishermen pull sharks out of the water, slice their fins off and discard them back into the sea alive but unable to swim. The fins are used to make shark-fin soup, a Chinese delicacy.
“The goal is not to interfere with legal shark fishing but to not participate in the importation of shark fins that disregard where or how the fins were obtained,” said Alea Couch, policy coordinator for the assemblyman.
Environmental groups say it has contributed to a decline in the shark population over last few decades. According to estimates published in the Marine Policy Journal, 100 million sharks are killed each year.