outlawed the possession or sale of shark fins. That pioneering legislation was pushed by Shark Allies and the Humane Society, who can help other activists design legislation for their own states. Hawaii could even be a model for the entire United States.

At the national level, the long-delayed Shark Conservation Act of 2009 is now being considered by the Senate. It would close loopholes in anti-shark finning laws, passed a decade ago with good intentions but many practical shortcomings. The Act has stalled in the Senate before; you can sign Ocean Conservancy’s petition, or contact your senators.

More locally, Sea Stewards’ Shark Sanctuary San Francisco campaign is petitioning the city to stop sales of shark fins and products. Activists have also identified restaurants to boycott or confront: Stop Shark Finning (join them on Facebook) maintains a list of fin-serving eateries in major U.S. and European cities, while New Yorkers Against Shark Finning have compiled an NYC-specific list. Oceanic Defense is also urging citizens to pressure giant grocery retailer Supervalu, owner of the Albertson’s grocery store chain, which carries shark meat in its stores.

Shark finning is wrong, and it can be stopped.

Image: Jeff Kubina, Flickr. Video: Wired.com

See Also:

• Video: Shark-Finning Puts Species on Verge of Extinction
• When the World's Biggest Fish Poops
• Glow-in-the-Dark Shark Turned on by Hormones
• Ancient Whale + Killer Shark = Hypercarnivorous Whale

Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes; Wired Science on Twitter. Brandon is currently working on an ecological tipping point project.

Authors: Brandon Keim

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