Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In the near future, we will be re-introducing legislation to ban the sale, possession, or distribution of shark fins. Shark fins are very valuable for use in shark fin soup. The practice of shark finning, however, is brutal and wasteful, and is contributing significantly to the extinction of an important ocean predator.

Many shark species are in danger of extinction and their decline poses a real threat to our ocean ecosystem. It is estimated that shark populations along the East Coast of the United States are down 90% from their historic levels. As a top predator, sharks maintain the balance of species required for a healthy ocean. They are slow to mature and reproduce, and as a consequence, their populations cannot recover quickly from over fishing. Shark finning consists of catching a shark, cutting off its fin and or tail and then dumping the animal back in the water to starve or suffocate.

While shark finning is illegal under federal law, the possession of shark fins is not. The market for shark fins is what drives this brutal practice and the over fishing that accompanies it. Pennsylvania can help impact the demand for shark fins and thereby reduce this practice by banning the possession and sale of shark fins and tails within our borders. The entire West Coast and Hawaii have already banned this unsustainable practice, and several East Coast states are currently poised to act.

This legislation will be modeled after SB 264 of the 2015-16 Legislative Session. Previous co-sponsors included: Senators: Brewster, White, Costa, Farnese, Boscola, Rafferty, Blake, Tomlinson and Tartaglione.