Passage of a bill to ban the sale of shark fins in California draws strong reactions from both sides.
"California's Senate passed a bill Sept. 6 by a vote of 25 to 9 to enact a
full ban on the trade of shark fins in the state. If Gov. Jerry Brown
signs the bill into law, the ban would take effect in 2013.
"As was explained in my previous Zester article on mock shark fin soup,
the proponents of Assembly Bill 376 (which passed in the Assembly in
May on a 65-8 vote) appeared to have a reasonable argument: Since
California is one of the largest markets for shark fins outside of Asia
and is a main conduit for their distribution throughout the United
States, this bill would reduce much of the pressure on what are being
reported as rapidly diminishing shark populations all over the world."
