US Friends: Stop New York’s Shark Fin Trade

Please click and sign HERE

Background | Source Oceana

The oceans need sharks and sharks need fins.

The demand for shark fins is driving some shark species to extinction. Tens of millions of sharks are caught each year for their fins, and in some places these sharks are finned alive, a brutal practice in which a shark’s fins are hacked off at sea, and the animal is thrown overboard to die.

New York is currently the largest importer and exporter of shark fins on the East Coast, but if we act now, these facts could be history. The New York Senate and Assembly are considering bills that would ban the possession, sale, and trade of shark fins within the state. Sharks are vital to the health of the oceans, and the worldwide shark fin trade is killing them. California, Oregon, and Washington have already passed similar bans – now let’s have New York lead the charge on the East Coast. Sign TODAY to support S6431 and A.7707a and take shark fins out of New York.

Petition Text

I am writing to support S6431 and A.7707a which would protect global shark populations by banning the possession, sale, offering for sale, trade, or distribution of shark fins in the state of New York.  In recent decades, some shark populations have decreased by more than 90%, largely as a result of direct fishing. Each year, tens of millions of sharks are killed for their fins to fulfill the demand for shark fin soup. Because sharks are top predators, removing sharks from ocean ecosystems can destabilize the ocean food web and lead to negative environmental and economic effects. Sharks keep ecosystems healthy by preying on the sick and the weak, which prevents disease and leads to healthier fishes. Sharks also prevent prey populations from growing too quickly, which leads to the damage of corals reefs and seagrass beds.

While shark finning is illegal in the U.S., the trading of shark fins is not and the consumption of shark fin soup continues. The demand for fins as an ingredient in shark fin soup contributes to shark finning, a wasteful and cruel practice that is endangering numerous shark populations around the world.

This bill will reduce pressure on shark populations globally by ending the demand for shark fins in New York. Similar bans have already been enacted in Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, and California and are now being considered in various East Coast states. I strongly urge you to sponsor this important legislation.

an extremely important apex
predator,
the shark,
if their populations
are decimated,
the oceans go
dark:(

Karen Lyons Kalmenson