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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 189 Introduced in House (IH)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 189

    Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the wasteful and 
            unsportsmanlike practice known as shark finning.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 1999

 Mr. Cunningham (for himself, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Bilbray, 
and Mr. Gilchrest) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
               was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
    Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the wasteful and 
            unsportsmanlike practice known as shark finning.

Whereas shark finning is the practice of removing the fins of a shark and 
        dumping its carcass back into the ocean;
Whereas demand for shark fins is driving dramatic increases in shark fishing and 
        mortality around the world;
Whereas the life history characteristics of sharks, including slow growth, late 
        sexual maturity, and the production of few young, make them particularly 
        vulnerable to overfishing and necessitate careful management of shark 
        fisheries;
Whereas shark finning is not prohibited in the waters of the Pacific Ocean in 
        which fisheries are managed by the Federal Government;
Whereas according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the number of sharks 
        killed in Central Pacific Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean fisheries rose 
        from 2,289 in 1991 to 60,857 in 1998, an increase of over 2,500 percent, 
        and continues to rise unabated;
Whereas of the 60,857 sharks landed in Central Pacific Ocean and Western Pacific 
        Ocean fisheries in 1998, 98.7 percent, or 60,085, were killed for their 
        fins;
Whereas shark fins comprise only between 1 percent and 5 percent of the weight 
        of a shark, and shark finning results in the unconscionable waste of 95 
        percent to 99 percent (by weight) of a valuable public resource;
Whereas the National Marine Fisheries Service has stated that shark finning is 
        wasteful, should be stopped, and is contrary to United States fisheries 
        conservation and management policies;
Whereas shark finning is prohibited in the United States exclusive economic zone 
        of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean;
Whereas the practice of shark finning in the waters of the United States in the 
        Pacific Ocean is inconsistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
        Conservation and Management Act, the Federal Fishery Management Plan for 
        Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks, and the shark finning 
        prohibitions that apply in State waters in the Atlantic Ocean and 
        Pacific Ocean;
Whereas the United States is a global leader in shark management, and the 
        practice of shark finning in the waters of the United States in the 
        Pacific Ocean is inconsistent with United States international 
        obligations, including the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing of 
        the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the 
        International Plan of Action for Sharks of such organization, and the 
        United Nation's Agreement on Straddling Stocks and Highly Migratory 
        Species; and
Whereas establishment of a prohibition on the practice of shark finning in the 
        Central Pacific Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean would result in the 
        immediate reduction of waste and could reduce shark mortality by as much 
        as 85 percent: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the practice of removing the fins of a shark and 
        dumping its carcass back into the ocean, commonly referred to 
        as shark finning, is a wasteful and unsportsmanlike practice 
        that could lead to overfishing of shark resources;
            (2) the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, the 
        State of Hawaii, and the National Marine Fisheries Service 
        should promptly and permanently end the practice of shark 
        finning in all Federal and State waters in the Central Pacific 
        Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean; and
            (3) the Secretary of State should continue to strongly 
        advocate for the coordinated management of sharks and the 
        eventual elimination of shark finning in all other waters.
                                 <all>
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