{"id":230810,"date":"2016-06-27T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-06-26T20:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=230810"},"modified":"2016-06-27T06:00:20","modified_gmt":"2016-06-26T20:00:20","slug":"kilili-introducing-ban-us-shark-fin-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/kilili-introducing-ban-us-shark-fin-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Kilili introducing ban on US shark fin trade"},"content":{"rendered":"
U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan has teamed up with Oceana and actor Morgan Freeman to make it illegal to buy and sell shark fins in the U.S. \u201cSharks are being killed for their fins, much like rhinos and elephants have been decimated due to the demand for their horns and tusks,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cIt\u2019s cruel. It\u2019s wasteful.\u201d The Mariana Islands, Sablan\u2019s district, banned shark finning locally in 2011. Joining Sablan and Freeman in the photo is Lora Snyder of Oceana. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C.<\/strong>\u2014Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (Ind-MP) will introduce bipartisan legislation to ban the buying and selling of shark fins in the United States. Sablan made the announcement on Capitol Hill with other members of Congress, who are cosponsoring his bill, with officials from the ocean conservation group, Oceana, and with movie star and environmental spokesman Morgan Freeman.<\/p>\n

Sablan\u2019s \u201cShark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016\u201d takes its lead from a law enacted by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 2011 that makes it illegal to possess, sell, or distribute shark fins in the islands. Both the CNMI law and Sablan\u2019s new bill do allow sharks to be caught for noncommercial subsistence purposes or with a government permit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2011, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was the first U.S. insular area to enact legislation banning the trade in shark fins,\u201d said Sablan. \u201cToday, three U.S. insular areas and 11 states have laws on the books to protect sharks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now building on that leadership from state and insular area legislatures by introducing national legislation to ban the buying and selling of shark fins throughout the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal of Sablan\u2019s legislation is to halt the worldwide decline in shark populations by taking away the U.S. market for shark fins and removing a major economic incentive for shark finning. An estimated 73 million sharks are being caught each year for their fins and, in most cases, they are then thrown back in the water to drown.<\/p>\n

\u201cDestroying millions of sharks simply for their fins is a wasteful practice that our indigenous Chamorro and Rafaluwasch cultures would never have allowed. We would have used as much of the shark as possible for food, tools, and other purposes,\u201d Sablan explained. \u201cIn addition, our ancestors understood and respected the role of the shark in preserving the health of the oceans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeman also explained the purpose of the bill. \u201cWhile shark finning is banned in U.S. waters, we continue to buy, sell, and trade shark fins throughout the country. By allowing the trade of shark fins within our borders, the U.S. continues to contribute to this global problem.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cShark finning is cruel and wasteful and is putting some shark species at risk of extinction,\u201d added Lora Snyder, Campaign Director at Oceana. \u201cTo end shark finning, we need to end the demand for shark fins. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud the leadership of the bill\u2019s co-sponsors today in helping to end the commerce in shark fins in the United States.\u201d Cosponsoring Congressman Sablan\u2019s bill are:
\n\u2022 Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
\n\u2022 Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU)
\n\u2022 Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX)
\n\u2022 Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
\n\u2022 Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)
\n\u2022 Rep. John Katko (R-NY)
\n\u2022 Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA)
\n\u2022 Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)
\n\u2022 Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA)<\/p>\n

Oceana used the occasion also to release a new report on declining shark populations, demonstrating why Congress needs to ban the buying and selling of shark fin products nationwide. <\/p>\n

Sablan is in his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has served as Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs and is currently Vice Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over ocean issues. (PR)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (Ind-MP) will introduce bipartisan legislation to ban the buying…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":230837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[12207,12208,57,320],"class_list":["post-230810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-lora-snyder","tag-morgan-freeman","tag-united-states","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}