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was legally harvested for its meat or from a shark that
was finned at sea.
A recent report on shark finning revealed large
discrepancies in shark-fin trade data, with other
countries reporting sending the U.S. more shark-
fin products than the U.S. recorded importing. It is
nearly impossible to know the true origin of any fin
that enters or leaves the United States. Of the shark-
fin products entering the U.S., more than 85 percent
come from countries with no finning regulations in
place. A 2006 study found that the 14 most common
species involved in the Hong Kong fin trade (the
historic leader in the global fin trade) were all near-
threatened, vulnerable or endangered, according to
the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
So with no good way to know where a fin comes from,
those entering the U.S. could be the product of a
practice that is banned in U.S. waters, and worse, they
may be the fins of sharks that are at risk of extinction.
An all-out trade ban would solve this problem.
There would be no need to try to figure out whether
a fin was hacked off a live, endangered shark, because
no fins could be sold in the United States. We’re
already employing this strategy for elephant ivory and
rhino horns, and it’s time sharks received the same
protection. Polls show that 8 in 10 Americans support
a nationwide trade ban, and dozens of organizations
such as Sierra Club and Sea Shepherd have declared
support for the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act. But
for this bill to pass it needs all the support it can get,
and I can’t think of a better standard bearer for this
issue than the diving community.
As you all know, an ocean without sharks is an
ocean out of balance. Sharks provide some of the most
memorable moments in a diver’s career, but they also
provide balance that is necessary for every population
in any given ecosystem to thrive — from sea grasses to
corals to fish. The abundance and biodiversity that we
divers live for is dependent upon a healthy ocean, and
a healthy ocean needs sharks — and sharks need you.
Please call and tell your members of congress to
support this bill. I urge you to make this a central issue
for the diving community. Watch the video at the link
in the sidebar, and share this appeal with your friends
and family.
Since my grandfather took his first scuba dive a
little more than 70 years ago, sharks have been giving
divers the ultimate thrill. Unfortunately, unless we act
as a community, many of our favorite species may not
make it another 70 years. Those moments of awe and
wonder will become fewer and farther between. It’s
time to end the buying and selling of shark fins in the
United States, and it’s time for divers to stand up for a
fish that has given us so much. AD
LEARN MORE
Watch the video at
Read Oceana’s report at
“The fin trade is
one of the greatest
threats to sharks
worldwide.”
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NANCY BOUCHA / MARINE PHOTOBANK
DAVID JACOBSEN-FRIED / MARINE PHOTOBANK
Humans kill up to 73 million sharks every year, many of them for
their fins. Although finning sharks is illegal in U.S. waters, and
11 states ban the sale of shark fins, fins are still bought and
sold in the U.S. A bill currently before Congress may put a stop
to this trade.