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Shark Conservation Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

Date: March 2, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Conservative

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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 81, the Shark Conservation Act of 2009. Due to an unfortunate court ruling, a loophole was opened in the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 which allows fishermen to transfer shark fins from fishing vessels to transshipment vessels at sea. This type of at-sea transfer was clearly a violation of the Act, but the court ruled otherwise.

Another provision in the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 required fishermen to land the carcasses of the sharks they had caught so that fishery managers could determine the number and type of shark species being harvested. H.R. 81 takes that one step further and requires U.S. fishermen to land sharks with the fins still attached.

While the change in shark management included in this legislation is consistent with the regulations developed by the Secretary of Commerce for Atlantic shark fisheries, management measures for sharks in the Pacific are normally developed through the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council.

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