The Hill House lawmakers on Thursday passed measures that would ban buying and selling shark fins in the United States and help the country combat illegal fishing as part of the annual defense spending bill.
The National Defense Authorization Act, which passed Thursday in a bipartisan 350-80 vote, includes the âEND Wildlife Trafficking Actâ and the shark fin sale provision.
The vice president of Oceana, an ocean advocacy nonprofit, called these changes an âimportant stepâ for ocean conservation.
âThis bill will finally remove the U.S. from the devastating shark fin trade once and for all ⊠[and] will also help to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing by giving the U.S. more tools to take action against countries that fail to address these devastating and destructive practices in their fleets,â Oceanaâs Beth Lowell said…
