Article Summary:

Bill AB376 has passed the California Senate and has gone to the governor to be signed into law. The bill will “make it unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute a shark fin” in the state of California, was passed by a majority of 25 for versus 9 against.

Shark Savers reports that polls indicated 70% of the Asian American community and 76% of California voters supported the shark fin ban. Despite this, AB 376 became an emotional battleground as shark fin lobbyists defended their interests and some members of the Asian community felt a shark fin ban unfairly impacted them. The positive result is a great one for shark conservation worldwide and, one hopes, may lead to other major economies banning the trade.