Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3095
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2016-06-23
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Animal protection and human-animal relationships

Fishes

Marine and coastal resources, fisheries

Trade restrictions
Latest action: action_date: 2016-06-23
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Summaries:
action_date: 2016-06-23
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016</b></p> <p>This bill makes it illegal to possess, buy, sell, transport, or trade shark fins or any product containing shark fins.A person may possess a shark fin that was lawfully taken consistent with a license or permit under certain circumstances.</p> <p> Penalties areimposedfor violations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.</p>

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3095 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 23, 2016 Mr. Booker (for himself, Mrs. Capito , Mr. Blumenthal , Mr. McCain , Ms. Cantwell , and Ms. Murkowski ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To prohibit sale of shark fins, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016 . 2. Prohibition on sale of shark fins (a) Prohibition Except as provided in section 3, no person shall possess, trade, distribute, ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, import, or export shark fins or products containing shark fins. (b) Penalty For purposes of section 308(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1858(a) ), a violation of this section shall be treated as an act prohibited by section 307 of that Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1857 ). 3. Exceptions A person may possess a shark fin that was taken lawfully under a State, territorial, or Federal license or permit to take or land sharks, if the shark fin is separated from the shark in a manner consistent with the license or permit and is— (1) destroyed or discarded; (2) retained by the license or permit holder for a noncommercial purpose; (3) used for noncommercial subsistence purposes in accordance with State or territorial law; or (4) used solely for display or research purposes by a museum, college, or university, or other person under a State or Federal permit to conduct noncommercial scientific research. 4. Definitions In this Act: (1) Import The term import has the same meaning that term has under section 3 of the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1802 ). (2) Shark The term shark — (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means any species of the subclass Elasmobranchii; and (B) does not include— (i) any stock of the species Mustelus canis (smooth dogfish) or Squalus acanthias (spiny dogfish) which is managed pursuant to a fishery management plan prepared under section 303 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1853 ); or (ii) any species in the superorder Batoidea that is managed pursuant to a fishery management plan prepared under section 303 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1853 ). (3) Shark fin The term shark fin means the raw, dried, or otherwise processed detached fin of a shark, or the raw, dried, or otherwise processed detached tail of a shark. 5. State authority Nothing in this Act may be construed to preclude, deny, or limit any right of a State or territory to adopt or enforce any regulation or standard that is more stringent than a regulation or standard in effect under this Act.