Over 60 nations this week signed an agreement to ban the killing of sharks for their fins in the Atlantic Ocean.
The ban was unanimously approved by members of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, including the United States. The United States has had a ban on shark finning in its territorial waters for more than a decade.
Sharks are killed for their fins which are used in soup. According to the Washington Post, a bowl of shark fin soup can garner upwards of $100 a bowl in Asia.
South Korea was one of the nations that originally balked at the ban, and the ban has a huge catch — any nation can opt out of the ban up over the next six months before it goes into effect.
An estimated 20 to 100 million sharks are killed annually worldwide.
Sources:
Atlantic ‘shark finning’ ban signed. Associated Press, November 22, 2004.
Measure protects Atlantic sharks. Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post, November 26, 2004.