Ask your senator to support the Shark Conservation Act

Sharks have lived on our planet for 400 million years, predating the dinosaurs. Yet unregulated commercial fishing could end all that. Please let your Senator know that you support the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850).

An estimated 73 million sharks around the world are killed every year, primarily for their fins, which are used in the Asian delicacy shark fin soup. Too often, fishermen slice off the valuable fins and discard the bodies at sea. This wasteful practice is known as “finning”. Finning was banned in all U.S. waters in 2000, but loopholes in the law hamper effective enforcement. As a result of this high demand and lax fishing limits, many shark species, including hammerheads and makos, are now threatened with extinction.

The Shark Conservation Act, introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), would ban removal of shark fins at sea, close other loopholes in the current U.S. shark finning law and promote the conservation of sharks internationally. The legislation passed the House unanimously in March of this year.

The time for action is running out. Please let your Senator know that passing the Shark Conservation Act is a priority.

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Talking Points

Please add your own personal message to the below letter. (Note: This campaign is for residents of the United States only.)

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

Sharks are known to many by sheer reputation as scary ocean predators. A lesser known fact is that shark populations are facing severe declines all around the world, with unknown consequences to our ocean ecosystems. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that more than half of highly migratory sharks are either overexploited or depleted.

A driving factor in this decline is "finning," or, slicing off a shark's fin and discarding the rest of the animal at sea, often times still alive. An estimated 73 million sharks are killed each year to support the global fin trade.

Finning is a wasteful practice. The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850) would eliminate loopholes in our current law and help sharks by:

- Requiring sharks are brought to port with their fins attached to their bodies on all U.S. coasts;

- Prohibiting all U.S. flagged vessels from having custody, control or possession of shark fins without the corresponding carcass (not just fishing vessels, as current law does); and

- Granting U.S. authorities the ability to restrict imports of shark products from countries identified as lacking comparable shark conservation measures - promoting the end of shark finning around the world.

I hope you too share my concern about declining shark populations and the impacts that the gradual disappearance of a top predator may have on our oceans. I urge you to show your support for protecting sharks by cosponsoring S. 850, and work swiftly to pass the legislation this session.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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