U.S. Shark Bill Targets Finning Loopholes

After the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearings last month, a new shark bill promising to close disturbing loopholes in existing shark fishing regulations has inched a step closer to becoming law.
The bill, entitled The Shark Conservation Act of 2008, specifically addresses the problem of finning, or removal of a shark's fins for shark fin soup, folk remedies and other forms of consumption.
Because of this practice, shark fins are among the world's most valuable fishing products, but the real price is that sharks are further threatened with extinction, since the marine predators usually die once their finless bodies are tossed overboard.

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