Selling Of Shark Fins Prohibited By Law In Rhode Island

The selling of shark fins in Rhode Island is now considered a crime. Ignoring this law will be fined or subject to imprisonment. This came to effect last January 1, 2017.

The Humane Society is thankful to the members of the legislature for their unwavering efforts to stand up for the sharks. It stated that the passage of this measure ensures that the Ocean State is now part of the solution to help end the global shark fin trade and the cruel practice of shark finning worldwide.

Selling Shark Fins Is Now A Crime In Rhode Island https://t.co/0lfh7b7okl pic.twitter.com/RjVQXnUaMu

— World of Nature (@WorldfNature) January 3, 2017

Shark finning is the removing or slicing off the shark's fins even though the shark is still alive. Then, they let the shark back to the ocean, in which it will have an agonizing death. The shark fins are used as an ingredient for shark fin soup, which is an Asian "delicacy."

（Shark fin soup is no reason to decimate a species or ruin the oceans） pic.twitter.com/r78o6BlEY0 — bot【Shark-bot】 (@sharkisamazing) December 22, 2016

The shark fin soup costs about $100 a bowl and often served during wedding celebrations. Its demands are increasing in countries like China and nations in the Far East. With the high demand, the traders and the restaurant owners make a lot of money out of shark fins.

Other states across America have implemented banning the selling of shark fins. These include California, Hawaii, New York, Texas and Washington. In Hawaii, the banning of shark fin trade was implemented in 2010, according to Huffington Post.

There are about 100 million sharks killed every year for their fins. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization stated that over 1,000 metric tons of shark fins were exported to the United States in 2007. State Senator Susan Sosnowski, who sponsored the Rhode Island bill, said that shark finning is a barbaric and reprehensible practice.