Shark Conservation Act

Shark Conservation Act of 2009
Other short titles	International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act; Shark Conservation Act of 2010
Long title	A bill to amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks.
Citations
Public law	Pub.L. 111–348
Statutes at Large	124 Stat. 3668
Codification
Acts amended	Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act
Titles amended	16 U.S.C.
U.S.C. sections amended	1826i, 1826j, 1826k, 1857, 4107a
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 81 by Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) on January 6, 2009; Committee consideration by Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, House Committee on Natural Resources; Passed the House on March 2, 2009 (voice vote [1]); Passed the Senate as the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 on December 20, 2010 (Unanimous Consent [2]) with amendment; House agreed to Senate amendment on December 21, 2010 (voice vote [3]); Signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011 [4];

The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (SCA) (H.R. 81, S. 850) was passed by the 111th United States Congress that amended the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives on March 2, 2009 by voice vote. It was taken up by the Senate and amended to incorporate further changes to Magnuson-Stevens, known as the International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act.^[1] The Senate passed the amended bill as the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 on December 20, 2010 by unanimous consent, and the next day the House accepted the amendment, again by voice vote. The bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011.^[2]

A decade earlier, the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (SFPA) had been passed to combat the increased practice of removing fins from sharks, usually taken in bycatch by longline fishing vessels, to satisfy increased demand for shark fin soup, a delicacy in China. In 2008, a federal appeals court ruled in United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins that transshipment of fins taken by other vessels was not prohibited by the SFPA. Within weeks of that decision, the SCA was introduced to close that loophole. It prohibits any person from cutting the fins of a shark at sea and from possessing, transferring and landing shark fins (including the tail) that are not "naturally attached to the corresponding carcass". In addition it prohibits any person from landing a shark carcass without its corresponding fins being "naturally attached".^[3]^[4]

The act protects all shark species, with an exception for commercial fishing of smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis) with a valid State license within 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) of any given State's coast.

^ "H.R.81, Titles", THOMAS Bill Summary & Status 111th Congress (2009 - 2010), Library of Congress
^ H.R. 81: Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (GovTrack.us):
^ US Shark Conservation Act of 2010 Archived 2010-12-10 at the Wayback Machine.
^ Restuccia, Andrew (January 5, 2011). "Obama signs two energy/environment bills into law". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved Jan 5, 2011.

[titles-1] "H.R.81, Titles", THOMAS Bill Summary & Status 111th Congress (2009 - 2010), Library of Congress

[2] H.R. 81: Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (GovTrack.us):

[opencongress111-h81-3] US Shark Conservation Act of 2010 Archived 2010-12-10 at the Wayback Machine.

[4] Restuccia, Andrew (January 5, 2011). "Obama signs two energy/environment bills into law". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved Jan 5, 2011.

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