Hawai'i Passes Shark Fin Possession Ban!!

[captainkevin]

The Hawai'i state legislature passed measure SB 2169 this evening which, when signed by the Governor, will make it illegal to possess or sell shark fins within the state of Hawai'i. The measure still allows commercial fishing of Mako & Thresher sharks, but requires them to be landed whole (fins attached) and that the fins be discarded upon processing. This will prevent non-descript fins from still being sold and someone claiming they came from a legally landed Mako or Thresher.

This is a big step in protection of sharks within U.S. waters. We commend the Hawai'i state legislature on this courageous action!!

[inventor]

49 states and 185 or so nations to go....

Keep strivin'....

Glad to hear it.

[smellzlikefish]

This is a huge step forward, but what about selling shark fin soup in restaurants? I may have found the only Chinese restaurant in the state of Hawaii that doesn't sell shark fin soup and they get all of my business.

[sailingk8]

If you're interested in helping with the fight to save Sharks:

A really good campaign
Say No to Shark Fin Soup Campaign is the best. With minimal donations they are buying bus stop Bill Boards in Asia featuring Yao Ming the basketball star. I feel it's the most proactive and they accept any amount you are willing to donate through Paypal.


To get good information on what is happening in the fight to save sharks:
The Global Shark Initiative Web Page
or on Facebook


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[Sherky]

Read in the paper that money attempts to get more shark finning banned resulted in failure. Japan won again to stop the banning of Hammerhead finning among other sharks.

We must keep fighting them.

[H2O 70]

This bill came up last week on the boards. Great bill....once it goes into effect on July 1, 2050...

Did they fix that part yet?

[drbill]

If it goes into effect in 2050, that's a pretty questionable "victory." I have to wonder if there will be any sharks left to worry about by that date.

[sailingk8]

Regarding the Date, from the Shark Safe Network:

"SB 2169-2050 date: Legislators put a "defective date" on many bills. When a committee feels that all issues are not resolved but they want to pass the bill to keep it alive, they add the defective date. That signals to everyone that more discussion is needed, but that the bill is essentially alive. Without this option, bills would get stuck and would not make it through the process within the designated time."

[H2O 70]

I gotta say, that is just a back assward way of doing things. I know it is how it is done, but damn.

I imagine it will be easier to change Section 7 (if I remember that is the effective date section) of this bill than to put a new bill through.

[mikemill]

Just want to make sure I read this right:

The Hawai'i state legislature passed measure SB 2169 this evening which, when signed by the Governor, will make it illegal to possess or sell shark fins within the state of Hawai'i. The measure still allows commercial fishing of Mako & Thresher sharks, but requires them to be landed whole (fins attached) and that the fins be discarded upon processing. This will prevent non-descript fins from still being sold and someone claiming they came from a legally landed Mako or Thresher.

So you can kill the shark, bring it in, hack it up and sell it off except for the fins which have to be thrown away. Is that correct?