California Lawmakers Propose Ban on Possession, Sale of Shark Fins

California State Assemblymen Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) and Jared Huffman
(D- San Rafael) have introduced a bill (A.B. 376) that would prohibit the
possession, sale, trade, and distribution of shark fins. Apparently in demand
for shark fin soup, “the ingredient is very high in mercury and the FDA warns
that it could be dangerous to consumers’ health,” according to a joint press
release issued by the lawmakers.

Calling shark finning “a senseless act” in which fins and tails are cut from living
sharks with the remainder of the fish thrown back in the ocean, Huffman
noted that the practice “can seriously destabilized the food chain” because of
sharks’ predatory status “in ocean ecosystems around the world.” Although
shark finning is illegal under federal and California statutes, Fong called those
laws “insufficient when we have species of sharks depleted up to 90 percent.
The demand for shark fin is growing and the worldwide shark population
is depleting to extinction rates. I say it is time to remove shark fin from the
menu.”

California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) has opposed the bill,
calling it “the wrong answer to a legitimate problem.” Although concerned
about overfishing of sharks, Yee said that the “proposed state law to ban all
shark fins from consumption—regardless of species or how they were fished
or harvested—is the wrong approach and an unfair attack on Asian culture
and cuisine. Some sharks are well-populated and many can and should be
sustainably fished.” See Fong/Huffman and Yee Press Releases, February 14,
2011.