IV
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 over-
fishing and necessitate careful management of shark fish-
eries;
Whereas shark finning is not prohibited in the waters of the
Pacific Ocean in which fisheries are managed by the Fed-
eral Government;
•HCON 189 IH
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 re-
sults 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 ex-
clusive 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 Man-
agement Act, the Federal Fishery Management Plan for
Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks, and the shark
finning prohibitions that apply in State waters in the At-
lantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean;
Whereas the United States is a global leader in shark man-
agement, 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
•HCON 189 IH
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the
International Plan of Action for Sharks of such organiza-
tion, 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, com-
monly referred to as shark finning, is a wasteful and
unsportsmanlike practice that could lead to over-
fishing of shark resources;
(2) the Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council, the State of Hawaii, and the National Ma-
rine Fisheries Service should promptly and perma-
nently end the practice of shark finning in all Fed-
eral 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 fin-
ning in all other waters.
Æ