California shark fin bill passes the CA Senate and is on Governor's desk

We need to show the Governor that there is tremendous public support for AB 376. Please write, email and call (in order of effectiveness) Governor Jerry Brown and urge him to sign AB 376 into law.

Mailing address: Governor Jerry Brown, c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php
Ph: (916) 445-2841

About the California shark fin bill (AB 376)

Frequently asked questions (To ban or not to ban)
What is shark finning? (AB 376 FINNING FINAL.pdf)
Four Facts about AB 376 (AB 376 Four Facts.pdf)
Rebuttal to claims made about AB 376 (Rebuttals to Oppo Claims from Cmte_FINAL_0823.pdf)

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Here is a sample letter:

The Honorable Edmund “Jerry” Brown
Governor of California
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

Date: September 17, 2011

RE: AB 376: Shark Protection Act — SUPPORT

Dear Governor Brown,

I would like to urge you to sign Assembly Bill 376, the Shark Protection Act.

As many as 73 million sharks are killed each year to supply fins for the international shark fin trade. The value of shark fin far exceeds other shark parts, providing an overwhelming economic driver to hunt as many sharks as possible for their fins. This has caused 1/3 of the species of open-ocean sharks to be at risk of extinction just within the last 20-30 years.

These are the bigger sharks, the top predators of the ocean ecosystem, and thus considered by scientists to be 'keystone' species, meaning that removing them causes the whole structure to collapse. For this reason, the prospect of a food chain minus its apex predators may mean the end of the line for many more species, and the collapse of important fish and shellfish fisheries.

The shark fin trade has many parallels to the ivory trade, and our experience with ivory shows that the only way to end illegal shark-finning is to end the demand for shark fin.

There is broad support for AB 376. Polling shows that 76% of California voters support AB 376, and 70% of California Chinese American voters support AB 376. Also, a 2011 survey in Hong Kong shows that attitudes are shifting in Asia as well. In China, there is increasing awareness of declining shark populations and a growing movement to stop the consumption of shark fin. In fact, Ding Liguo, deputy to the National People's Congress in China, has proposed that China's top legislature ban the trade of shark fin.

Approximately 85% of all U.S. dried shark fin imports come through California, and the U.S. accounts for 70% of all shark fin imports outside of Asia. By ending the trade in shark fin, California can help shut down the international shark fin trade, and motivate other countries to pass similar legislation.

Thank you for putting California in a lead position to protect sharks from extinction.

Sincerely,


Name:
Address:

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09.06.2011:
California shark fin bill (AB 376) passes the CA Senate 25-9. View the session at: www.calchannel.com/channel/viewVideo/3009 (starts at 01:07:30). It was amended by a rider bill AB 853. AB 376 now heads to Governor Brown's desk. Thank you everyone for your support of AB 376!

AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Wolk, Wyland

NOES: Cannella, Hernandez, Huff, Lieu, Price, Rubio, Walters, Wright, Yee

NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, De León, Dutton, Fuller, Hancock, Padilla

Calif. lawmakers pass bill banning shark-fin trade Associated Press Sep 6, 2011