On March 2nd, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Shark Conservation Act (H.R. 81) to strengthen the U.S. shark finning ban and encourage other countries to implement comparable regulations or face U.S. sanctions. This is a major victory for sharks because the fins-on requirement, which applies to all vessels landing sharks within the United States and its territories, would not only help enforcement of the United States shark finning ban, it would also assist in the identification of sharks, improving our understanding of shark populations. Special thanks to all of our NCMC members who wrote to their Representatives in support of this important legislation!

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and must be approved by the committee before it can be voted on by the full Senate. Please contact your Senators and ask their support for the Shark Conservation Act of 2009. If you reside in any of the states represented by the list of committee members (see full story), a letter to your Senator would be of great immediate value. Ultimately, we will need the support of the full Senate to see that this bill is enacted by the 111th Congress.

See full story for instructions on how to comment and sample letter:

http://www.savethefish.org/action_items_shark_finning.htm