The Senate passed a landmark shark conservation bill Monday that would close loopholes that had allowed the lucrative shark fin trade to continue operations off the West Coast.
The measure would require any vessel to land sharks with their fins attached and would prevent non-fishing vessels from transporting fins without their carcasses. The practice of cutting off a shark’s fins and dumping its body overboard, which is now banned off the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico but not the Pacific, has expanded worldwide due to rising demand for shark’s fin soup in Asia.
Full story: Senate passes shark protection bill