Environment

Calif. Bans Sale And Possession Of Shark Fins

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published October 7, 2011 at 11:27 AM PDT

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

A female mako shark being finned at a shark fishing camp, Santa Rosalia, Mexico.

California Governor Jerry Brown said Friday he signed AB 376, a bill banning the sale, trade or possession of shark fins.

California now joins Hawaii, Guam, Washington and Oregon in trying to protect the dwindling shark population by reducing the demand for shark fins.

Brown said the "practice of cutting the fins off of living sharks and dumping them back in the ocean is not only cruel, but it harms the health of our oceans."

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“Researchers estimate that some shark populations have declined by more than 90 percent, portending grave threats to our environment and commercial fishing," said Brown. "In the interest of future generations, I have signed this bill.”

The practice of “finning” for culinary purposes has led to substantial declines in shark populations worldwide.

The bill, authored by Democratic Assemblyman Paul Fong of Cupertino, had split the Asian delegation in the California Legislature. Fong said it is needed to protect endangered shark species, but others called the measure racist because the fins are used in a soup considered a delicacy in some Asian cultures.

San Diego County resident Judy Ki, co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance, reacted to the signing of the bill.

"I can cry now," said Ki. "Happy tears!"

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In addition to AB 376, Brown signed a companion bill by Assemblyman Fong. AB 853 allows existing stocks of on-hand shark fins to be sold until July 1, 2013.

Corrected: November 30, 2024 at 10:34 AM PST

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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