Bills that are helping

There has been so much work already done to help protect not just the sharks, but all of the oceans, beachfront, consumerism and the tourism industry, ocean dumping, etc. These bills would not have been passed without the intense activism, lobbying, and protesting done by US citizens who demanded change.

Shark Conservation Act:

This act demands that all sharks brought to shore, have their fins intact. This bill was written due to the disturbing statistics related to overfishing, which is the primary cause of the declining shark populations today. This act builds upon previous laws, such as the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000. This act was amended to be a part of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act: 

The MSA forbids people of the United States from detaching fins from a shark at sea, having control or owning just the fin of a shark on a fishing vessel, moving detached fins* to different vessels at sea, and finally landing a detached fin or a shark with detached fins. This law was first put into action in 1976, being the first law that directly addresses environmental sustainability and prevents overfishing.

*Detached Fins, meaning a fin removed from a shark by human action.

Shark Finning Prohibition Act:

This act was put into law in 2000 and amended the MSA to stop the detaching of shark fins. Recent statistics show that around 100 million sharks are slaughtered for shark finning a year. This bans the horrific, barbarian practice of cutting off a shark’s fins and then leaving the live shark to drown. One of the most important aspects of this act is that the NOAA Fisheries must provide Congress with a yearly report that discusses their progress on implementing this law.

Coral Reef Conservation Act:

This law was made in 2000 to save what coral reef ecosystems we have left with better management and research on the current state of the coral. This law established four programs to ensure this law was carried out: 

1. National Coral Reef Action Strategy: establishing research goals, monitoring, and conservation efforts, making progress when it comes to regional and international issues with coral reef protection,

2. Coral Reef Conservation Program: providing money for coral reef research, restoration, and conservation projects

3. Coral Reef Conservation Fund: provides money dedicated to coral reef ecosystem research, restoration, and conservation projects; it also donates to the NOAA, the Secretary of Commerce, and gives money to the NOAA to donate to non-profit organizations dealing with the coral reefs.

4. National Program: monitoring and restoration efforts to assist with conservation efforts, makes the public aware of this issue through educational programs, and assists with mediating between federal, regional, and state efforts to help the coral reef ecosystems.

National Marine Sanctuaries Act:

This law was established in 1972 and has been amended several times to extend its power. Sanctuaries are a huge, crucial part of modern conservation acts. They can save species and ecosystems that otherwise would have been gravely tampered with. They also help to facilitate research and educational efforts for scientists internationally. This act protects areas from the coral ecosystems in American Samoa to shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean.  The NMSA has several ways to implement its regulations:

1. Provides authority for the protection of sanctuaries

2. Installed a program that will have day-to-day protocols at each sanctuary

3. Authorizes the NOAA to deal with civil penalties, up to $13,000, for violations of this act

4. Requiring federal agencies whose actions will damage sanctuary territories to discuss with the program before doing anything; will ensure that actions change to cause the least, if not no, damage.

Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act:

This revolutionary act that is helping to end the global shark fin trade was passed by the Senate in an 83 to 11 vote. This bill is part of the National Defense Authorization Act. This prohibits the commercial shark fin trade and any material products with shark fins. Shark fins are brutally stolen for jewelry and are used in the Asian delicacy of shark fin soup. These creatures are mutilated and left to drown in the place that is their home. Shark finning (the cutting of fins off of live sharks) is prohibited in US waters; however, there are still some legal gaps in territories and international waters. This federal ban goes along with seventeen US states and three US territories that already had pre-established policies. (On a personal note: I am so proud of Senator Brooker, Senator Capito, Representative Sablan, and Representative McCaul for pushing for this act. Their acts are helping to protect sharks everywhere and hopefully to allow them to finally feel safe in their homes.)

If you want to do more research, here is some information:

• Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000: https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/actionstrategy/08_cons_act.pdf

• Shark Conservation Act of 2010 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/29/2016-15413/magnuson-stevens-fishery-conservation-and-management-act-provisions-implementation-of-the-shark

• National Marine Sanctuaries Act of 2000 https://www.congress.gov/106/plaws/publ513/PLAW-106publ513.htm

• Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2021 https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/s1106/BILLS-117s1106is.pdf

• Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976

• https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/laws-and-policies/shark-conservation-act#:~:text=On%20January%204%2C%202011%2C%20the,with%20their%20fins%20naturally%20attached.

• Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 https://www.congress.gov/106/plaws/publ557/PLAW-106publ557.pdf