Environmental Bills Up on Monday

The following bills will be up for a vote on the Assembly floor on Monday, November 25:

A4845 (Mukherji): Prohibits certain possession, sale, trade, distribution, or offering for sale of shark fins.

“The shark population has been decimated. Shark finning has led to the overfishing and overexploitation of shark species. Since shark fin soup is a delicacy, the fins are sold at high prices resulting in tens of millions of sharks being killed every year. This has led to a dramatic decrease in the shark population with some species like the smooth hammerhead dropping a staggering 99% since 1972. When sharks are removed from an ecosystem, it triggers a collapse in the entire food web and can lead to problems with our own marine food sources,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This bill will help end the practice of shark finning that endangers the species. Laws passed by Congress already have banned shark finning in federal waters, but this bill would end the practice in state waters, too.”

A3804 (Webber/McKeon): Dedicates $500,000 annually in revenues from vessel registration and renewal fees to NJ Greenwood Lake Fund.

“New Jersey’s reservoirs and lakes have succumbed to algae blooms in an unprecedented way. There have been over 50 bodies of water in New Jersey that have been closed, or under advisory for high levels of cyanobacteria. We support this bill because Greenwood Lake is a critical water supply source for the state. It is not only a source for the Wanaque and Monksville Reservoir systems, but it’s a back-up water supply source. Dredging and cleaning Greenwood Lake will help enhance water quality statewide, especially in case of a drought and climate change,” said Jeff Tittel. “Climate impacts will only get worse and we need to protect the lakes and rivers we swim in, but more importantly the reservoirs that we drink from. This bill is a step in the right direction, but we need stronger action to clean up our lakes and fight climate change. We need a holistic and integrated approach by communities, towns, and the state.”