Shark fin trade in the U.S. will be banned.
This week the U.S. House voted to ban shark fin trade in the U.S., where sharks have their fins cut from their bodies and their live carcasses discarded. In some parts of the world, populations of shark species such as great white, hammerhead and thresher sharks have fallen as much as 90% in the last 60 years! Many populations are under threat of being completely wiped out by 2048.
This week the U.S. House voted to pass the "Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, H.R., 737, a bill designed to end all commercial trade of shark fins in the United States, potentially ending any imports, exports, trading, distribution, and possession of shark fins for commercial purposes. This Act also includudes any products which contain shark fins.
Over 73 million sharks are traded globally each year, an average of 200,000 a day, forcing many populations to the brink of extinction.
Until now, shark fin has been banned in 12 U.S. States however in some parts, it is still on the menu in some places or is little enforced. Take for example, Los Angles, should you fancy shark fin soup, you can order it from China Gate Restaurant for home delivery for $16.95. L.A., California is one of the 12 states to have had banned shark fin since 2000, in an attempt to help declining shark populations as a result of over-exploitation. Unfortunately however, so far, the bans haven’t stopped restaurants in at least 10 of the 12 states selling shark fin soup as fines and jail sentences for violating the shark fin ban are generally light and have little deterrent effect.
Almost one third of the United State's Asian population is living in California and the state is one of the largest consumers of shark fin outside Asia.
In a 2012 study , scientists discovered the DNA of eight different sharks, including the endangered scalloped hammerhead , as well as vulnerable species like the shortfin mako and the spiny dogfish , in soup samples collected from around the United States.
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