From the Office of Senator Kerry

Monday, December 11, 2000

Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate passed Senator John F. Kerry's legislation to prohibit shark finning - the practice of slicing off a shark's fins and discarding its carcass at sea. The National Marine Fisheries Service already prohibits shark fining in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. This legislation expands that ban into the Pacific. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation in November. The bill will now be sent to the President to be signed into law.

"Sharks are essential to maintaining the balance of life in the sea," said Senator Kerry. "By ending the wasteful practice of finning, we will protect the sharks and this legislation is only the beginning. We need more national and international efforts to protect sharks and their marine ecosystems. This is a necessary first step towards a comprehensive approach to tackling this serious threat to our ecosystems."

"Shark Finning is a cruel and wasteful practice that is threatening the world's shark populations. It must be stopped," said Fred O'Regan, President of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). "Not just in U.S. waters, but around the globe. Ending shark finning around the world will necessarily involve international efforts and requite U.S. leadership."

"The vulnerability of sharks to overfishing and the massive mortality associated with finning made achieving a finning ban a top priority for the OWC and its member organizations," explained Dr. David Wilmot, Ocean Wildlife Campaign Director. Each year, tens of thousands of sharks are killed just for their fins in the U.S. Pacific. In 1998, the number of sharks finned in the waters surrounding Hawaii topped 60,000. Because fins comprise only a small percentage of a shark's body weight, finning wastes 95 to 99 percent of each shark.

"By addressing this egregious waste, Congress has established a strong and consistent national shark policy and reasserted U.S. leadership in addressing global threats to these exceptionally vulnerable fish," remarked Sonja Fordham, shark fisheries specialist for the Center for Marine Conservation.

In addition to the domestic ban, the Kerry legislation calls on the Administration to initiate discussions with other countries to ban shark finning, and establishes a research program to help improve shark stock assessments, reduce incidental catch, and better utilize shark captured legally.

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