SR 08-23-2011 13G13-G
August 23, 2011
Council Meeting: Santa Monica, California
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE -MEMORANDUM
To: City Council
From: Maria M. Stewart
Date: August 232, 2011
13-G: Request of Mayor Richard Bloom that the City Council adopt a resolution
supporting AB 376, a bill that would ban the sale of shark fin products in
California in an effort to reverse the near collapse of shark populations
worldwide, including California and to stop cruelty to sharks whose fins
are severed and then,. unable to swim, left to die.
attachments
13-G
August 23, 2011
1
Assembly Bill 376 (FONG/HUFFMAN):
Promote healthy shark populations & oceans
The goal of AB 376 is to save sharks and the
oceans by banning the possession, sale, trade
and distribution of shark fins.
Every year fins from tens of millions of sharks are
used for shark fin soup.l The human appetite for
shark fins has been a major contributor to the near-
collapse of shark populations worldwide, including in
California. Current federal and California laws
banning shark finning control shark handling
practices but do not restrict the number of sharks
killed and thus do not address the issue of the shark
fin trade.
One of the most effective ways to protect sharks by reducing the
number killed is to eliminate the market for fins by prohibiting their
sale. AB 376 will ensure that California ceases to contribute to the
supply and demand for shark fin through a ban on the possession (save
for those with valid shark fishing research permits), sale, trade and
distribution of shark fins. A similar ban was enacted in Hawaii in 2010
and in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands in early 2011.
Similar legislation is now under review by the Guam, Oregon, and
Washington state legislatures.
SHARKS ARE KEY TO HEALTHY OCEANS
As predators at or near the top of marine food webs, sharks help
maintain the balance of marine life in our oceans. Research shows that
the massive depletion of sharks has cascading effects throughout the
oceans' ecosystems? Complicating matters, sharks are particularly
vulnerable to overfishing because they are slow to reach reproductive
maturity and produce very few offspring. AB 376 will give critical
protection to sharks and preserve the health of California's and the
world's ocean ecosystems and biodiversity.
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SHARKS ARE IN TROUBLE
The demand for fins drives the cruel practice of shark finning. The fins are cut off, often while the animal is still
alive, and then the shark is thrown back into the sea. No longer able to swim, the mutilated shark sinks to the
bottom of the ocean and may not die immediately. Without fins, sharks will bleed to death, drown, or are eaten by
other animals. This ruthless practice, which remains legal in many parts of the world, is dangerously efficient
because it enables fishing crews to throw out low-value, unwanted and unmarketable shark carcasses and retain
only the fins. Shark finning allows shack hunters to fish for sharks far longer than if they had to keep space onboard
for the whole shark. Sharks have inhabited our oceans for 400 million years and yet scientists warn that shark
populations are dwindling and cannot sustain the current slaughter rates. The International Union for Conservation
of Nature Red List of Threatened Species estimates that 30 percent of pelagic (open ocean) sharks are threatened
with extinction a
CALIFORNIA JOINS A REGIONAL AND GLOBAL SHARK PROTECTION TREND
California represents a significant market for shark fins in the United States, and this demand helps drive the
practice of shark finning and declining shark populations. According to a 2005 report to Congress by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, San Diego and Los Angeles are two of the top U.S. entry points for shark
fin imports." Given that most of the fins are processed in Asia and then exported around the world, fins currently
imported and sold in California could have come from any
of the dozens of countries that sell fins to East Asia, many of
which continue to fin sharks. AB 376, which seeks to ban
the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in
California, will eliminate the supply of shark fins here and
end our state's involvement in the highly destructive global
shark fin trade.
Increasingly, national governments and international fishery
conventions are recognizing the urgency to save sharks by
implementing progressive protection measures. The UK and
several Latin American governments have adopted
regulations outlawing removal of a shark's fins on board a
fishing vessel. Federal and state laws prohibiting the.
practice of shark finning do not directly address the trade in
fins, yet states are not federally preempted from doing so.
Thousands of years of Asian philosophy emphasize the importance of harmony between nature and humanity.
Although shark fin soup has long been a popular entree because of its association with prestige and privilege,
concerned individuals across Asia -including China, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong- have formed shark
protection groups to highlight the plight of sharks. Some governments. and businesses in the Pacific region have
pledged to not serve shark fin soup at government functions, business meetings, and celebratory banquets.
Likewise, a growing number of globally recognized Asian chefs support alternatives to shark fin. Respected Asian
Pacific American leaders, elected officials, celebrities, and advocates have joined in support for AB 376.
AB 376 will greatly complement the global and regional trend toward shark conservation
and reaffirm California's leadership in shark and ocean protection.
~ S. Clarke, et al., "Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets," Ecology Letters, 9:10, Blackwell
Publishing Ltd/CNRS, 2006, pp. 1115-1126, www.iccs.org.uk/papers/Clarke2006EcologyLetters.pdf
x Myers, R.A., Baum,1.K., Shepherd, T.D., Powers, S.P. and Peterson, C.H. 2007. Cascading effects of the loss of apex predatory sharks from a
coastal ocean. Science 315: 1846-1850
' IUCN press release, June 26, 2009. 'Third of open ocean sharks threatened with extinction." http://www.iucn.org/?3362/rhird-of-open-
ocean-sharks-threatened-with-extinction
° 2005 Report to Congress, Pursuant to the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-577), US Dept of Commerce, National
Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Page 16. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/domes_fish/ReportsTOCongress/SharkFinningReportOS.pdf
SAMPLE RESOLUTION
SUPPORTING THE PASSAGE OF ASSEMBLY BILL 3~6
WHEREAS, according to scientists tens of millions of sharks are killed every year for their fins;
and
WHEREAS, killing sharks at this rate, and pushing an estimated one-third of open ocean shark
species to the brink of extinction, damages the ecosystems that support many other species,
degrading habitats like coral reefs and kelp forests and ultimately affecting the fish populations
that we all depend on for food; and
WHERF..AS, the shark fin trade drives the overfishing of sharks, poaching, and the inhumane
practice of shark finning which involves cutting off the fins of a shark and then throwing the
shark back into the ocean, often while still alive, only to drown, starve or die a slow death by
predation from other animals; and
WHEREAS, shark populations cannot sustain current slaughter rates; and
WHEREAS, unlike other fish species, sharks produce few pups, and thus many species are
endangered or threatened due to the fin trade; and
WHEREAS, California's ban on shark finning off our coast is not effective as long as imported
fins are widely available in markets and restaurants and demand for fins continues to incentivize
overfishing;and
WHEREAS, a shark's fin is valued on the world market at up to 25o times the value of other
shark parts; and
WHEREAS, driving this market for fins is the demand for shark fin soup, an often very
expensive dish associated with affluence; and
WHEREAS, many California marine biologists, ocean advocates, and cultural heritage leaders
support AB 3~6, authored byAssemblymembers Fong and Huffman, which would banthe
possession and sale of shark fins; and
WHEREAS, because California represents one of the largest markets for shark fins outside Asia,
and represents significant entry and traffic points for the international trade, stopping the sale
and distribution of shark fins here will have impacts that resonate worldwide; and
WHEREAS, AB 3~6 will be a step forward to protect sharks and our ocean for future generations
by making it illegal to possess, sell, trade or distribute shark fins.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE TI' RESOLVED that hereby supports the passage of
Assembly Bill 3~6.
Reference Resolution No.
10603 (CCS)