Shark Fin Bill Goes to Gov’s Desk

The Assembly passed bill A4845 (Mukherji) \ S2905 (Singleton) today. The bill prohibits certain possession, sale, trade, distribution, or offering for sale of shark fins. The bill was passed with a vote of 53-18-1. S2905 (Singleton) will now go to the Governor’s desk to sign.

“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.”

“The harvesting of shark fins is senseless slaughter. The fins are removed from the sharks while they are still alive, and then the sharks are left to die. This legislation is necessary because the practice of shark finning is brutal and unnecessary causing a rapid decline of shark species, which we may see go extinct unless we move to protect them. No one needs shark fins except the sharks. We need this bill to help preserve hundreds of ecologically important shark species and stop them from being slaughtered for soup,” said Tittel.