Hello happy divers. There is a bill being considered in in Hawaii to make the selling of shark fins illegal in that state. They are getting some good press but can use all the help they can find. If you have a minute and love these creatures like we do please have a look. Information taken via the Shark Research Institute (SRI) …
“-(your name with position/title and organization)
Chairman Angus L.K. McKelvey
Hearing on Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 8am
MEASURE SB2169, SD2 IN SUPPORT”
You are free to write whatever you want, but here are some talking points.
-Sharks are slow growing and have few young, which makes them particularly vulnerable to overfishing.
-Shark finning is a brutal and wasteful fishery in which the fins (less than 5% of the weight of the animal) are removed while the shark is still alive, and the less-valuable rest of the shark is dumped overboard to bleed to death or drown.
-The shark fin itself is made of cartilage and adds no flavor whatsoever to the soup. It only adds texture, and may pose a health hazard because of its high methyl-mercury content.
-Shark finning results in the deaths of as many as 70 million sharks a year, which is unsustainable