Congress considers bill to help save sharks

A mound of shark fins, above, and sharp fin soup, below

October 22, 1999
Web posted at: 9:12 p.m. EDT (0112 GMT)

From Correspondent Jim Hill

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- While it may be difficult for most people to feel sorry for sharks, Congress is considering steps to protect the creatures from fishermen who cut off their fins -- and then throw the rest away.

"If we deplete this resource like we deplete dolphins and we deplete tuna or any other species on this Earth, then we all lose," said Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-California) at a House subcommittee hearing on the proposed ban.

Shark fins can sell for up to $70 a pound as an ingredient for shark-fin soup. In 1993, the federal government banned shark finning within 200 miles of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States.

In California, the state outlawed the practice within 200 miles of its coastline. But shark finning is unregulated in Hawaii, where some fishermen say it is an important part of their livelihood.

While some fishermen say they only make use of sharks inadvertently hooked, researchers say finning is still wasteful, utilizing only 1 percent to 5 percent of the shark. Opponents also argue that it is easy to overfish sharks, which are slow to mature.

"These are animals that would have had a good chance of surviving if they had been released and not finned," says Robert Huerta of the Center for Shark Research.

A bill being drafted in Congress would ban shark finning in the waters around Hawaii. A proposed resolution asks Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to call for a worldwide ban on the practice.

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