I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5461

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

to eliminate the wasteful and unsportsmanlike practice of shark finning.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 12, 2000

Mr. CUNNINGHAM introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act to eliminate the wasteful and unsportsmanlike practice of shark finning.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shark Finning Prohi5 bition Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this title is to eliminate shark-finning

8 by addressing the problem comprehensively at both the na9 tional and international levels.
2

HR 5461 IH

1 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON REMOVING SHARK FIN AND DIS2 CARDING SHARK CARCASS AT SEA.

3 Section 307(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

4 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857(1))

5 is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in sub7 paragraph (N);

8 (2) by striking ‘‘section 302(j)(7)(A).’’ in sub9 paragraph (O) and inserting ‘‘section 302(j)(7)(A);

10 or’’; and

11 (3) by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(P)(i) to remove any of the fins of a

13 shark (including the tail) and discard the car14 cass of the shark at sea;

15 ‘‘(ii) to have custody, control, or possession

16 of any such fin aboard a fishing vessel without

17 the corresponding carcass; or

18 ‘‘(iii) to land any such fin without the cor19 responding carcass.

20 ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph (P) there is a rebut21 table presumption that any shark fins landed from

22 a fishing vessel or found on board a fishing vessel

23 were taken, held, or landed in violation of subpara24 graph (P) if the total weight of shark fins landed or

25 found on board exceeds 5 percent of the total weight

26 of shark carcasses landed or found on board.’’.
3

HR 5461 IH

1 SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

2 No later than 180 days after the date of enactment

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall promulgate

4 regulations implementing the provisions of section

5 3076(1)(P) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva6 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(P)), as

7 added by section 403 of this title.

8 SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.

9 The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Sec10 retary of State, shall—

11 (1) initiate discussions as soon as possible for

12 the purpose of developing bilateral or multilateral

13 agreements with other nations for the prohibition on

14 shark-finning;

15 (2) initiate discussions as soon as possible with

16 all foreign governments which are engaged in, or

17 which have persons or companies engaged in shark18 finning, for the purposes of—

19 (A) collecting information on the nature

20 and extent of shark-finning by such persons

21 and the landing or transshipment of shark fins

22 through foreign ports; and

23 (B) entering into bilateral and multilateral

24 treaties with such countries to protect such spe25 cies;
4

HR 5461 IH

1 (3) seek agreements calling for an international

2 ban on shark-finning and other fishing practices ad3 versely affecting these species through the United

4 Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s

5 Committee on Fisheries, and appropriate regional

6 fishery management bodies;

7 (4) initiate the amendment of any existing

8 international treaty for the protection and conserva9 tion of species of sharks to which the United States

10 is a party in order to make such treaty consistent

11 with the purposes and policies of this section;

12 (5) urge other governments involved in fishing

13 for or importation of shark or shark products to ful14 fill their obligations to collect biological data, such

15 as stock abundance and by-catch levels, as well as

16 trade data, on shark species as called for in the

17 1995 Resolution on Cooperation with FAO with Re18 gard to study on the Status of Sharks and By-Catch

19 of Shark Species; and

20 (6) urge other governments to prepare and sub21 mit their respective National Plan of Action for the

22 Conservation and Management of Sharks to the

23 2001 session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, as

24 set forth in the International Plan of Action for the

25 Conservation and Management of Sharks.
5

HR 5461 IH

1 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

2 The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the

3 Secretary of State, shall provide to Congress, by not later

4 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and

5 every year thereafter, a report which—

6 (1) includes a list that identifies nations whose

7 vessels conduct shark-finning and details the extent

8 of the international trade in shark fins, including es9 timates of value and information on harvesting of

10 shark fins, and landings or transshipment of shark

11 fins through foreign ports;

12 (2) describes the efforts taken to carry out this

13 title, and evaluates the progress of those efforts;

14 (3) sets forth a plan of action to adopt inter15 national measures for the conservation of sharks;

16 and

17 (4) includes recommendations for measures to

18 ensure that United States actions are consistent

19 with national, international, and regional obligations

20 relating to shark populations, including those listed

21 under the Convention on International Trade in En22 dangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

23 SEC. 7. RESEARCH.

24 The Secretary of Commerce, subject to the avail25 ability of appropriations authorized by section 410, shall

26 establish a research program for Pacific and Atlantic
6

HR 5461 IH

1 sharks to engage in the following data collection and re2 search:

3 (1) The collection of data to support stock as4 sessments of shark populations subject to incidental

5 or directed harvesting by commercial vessels, giving

6 priority to species according to vulnerability of the

7 species to fishing gear and fishing mortality, and its

8 population status.

9 (2) Research to identify fishing gear and prac10 tices that prevent or minimize incidental catch of

11 sharks in commercial and recreational fishing.

12 (3) Research on fishing methods that will en13 sure maximum likelihood of survival of captured

14 sharks after release.

15 (4) Research on methods for releasing sharks

16 from fishing gear that minimize risk of injury to

17 fishing vessel operators and crews.

18 (5) Research on methods to maximize the utili19 zation of, and funding to develop the market for,

20 sharks not taken in violation of a fishing manage21 ment plan approved under section 303 or of section

22 307(1)(P) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con23 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853,

24 1857(1)(P)).
7

HR 5461 IH

1 (6) Research on the nature and extent of the

2 harvest of sharks and shark fins by foreign fleets

3 and the international trade in shark fins and other

4 shark products.

5 SEC. 8. WESTERN PACIFIC LONGLINE FISHERIES COOPERA6 TIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM.

7 The National Marine Fisheries Service, in consulta8 tion with the Western Pacific Fisheries Management

9 Council, shall initiate a cooperative research program with

10 the commercial longlining industry to carry out activities

11 consistent with this title, including research described in

12 section 407 of this title. The service may initiate such

13 shark cooperative research programs upon the request of

14 any other fishery management council.

15 SEC. 9. SHARK-FINNING DEFINED.

16 In this Act, the term ‘‘shark-finning’’ means the tak17 ing of a shark, removing the fin or fins (whether or not

18 including the tail) of a shark, and returning the remainder

19 of the shark to the sea.

20 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec22 retary of Commerce for fiscal years 2001 through 2005

23 such sums as are necessary to carry out this title.

Æ