Congress on Tuesday passed legislation to better protect sharks, creatures that swam the oceans before the age of dinosaurs but now are being killed by the millions for their fins, a delicacy used in a traditional Chinese soup.
Conservationists called the measure a major step to save a species in trouble. They estimate that 73 million sharks are killed annually to support the shark fin trade, and that 30 percent of the world's species are threatened or nearly threatened with extinction. The loss of too many top predators can disrupt the balance of the populations of other species.
The Senate passed a bill, sponsored by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., on Monday, and the House of Representatives passed its version with the same language Tuesday, sending it to the president's desk for his signature. Supporters anticipate that he'll sign it.
The legislation requires that sharks caught legally must be landed with fins attached in all U.S. waters. Regulations already had banned cutting off the fins and dumping the bodies in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, but not in the Pacific. The requirement that the fins remain on the bodies for inspection gives fisheries management officials a clearer picture of how many sharks and what species were caught.
The legislation also closes a loophole in a previous law that allowed fins to be cut off at sea and transferred to non-fishing vessels.
More...
Hexavalent chromium nanoparticles were found in air samples gathered by researchers over the course of several...
The Democratic governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut promised on Saturday to fight a Trump administration...
A powerful storm kicked up a towering wall of dust that rolled through the city of...
Multiple wildfires have ignited across California as the state continues to scorch in a multi-day heatwave...
