Shark fin soup. File photo.
B.C. Green Party Deputy Leader Sonia Furstenau has introduced a private member’s bill that would restrict the possession and distribution of shark fins within the province.
Furstenau said sharks are critical to the health of the ocean ecosystems and marine biodiversity. She also said an estimated 73 million sharks die every year due to shark finning.
According to Furstenau, Canada imported more than 140,000 kilograms of shark fins last year alone and the bill would make sure the “province is not part of driving the global demand of this harmful and inhumane industry.”
“As a species that is slow to mature and that has relatively low rates of reproduction, their decline creates a ripple effect throughout our oceans,” Furstenau said.
The bill comes five years after the Union of B.C. Municipalities passes a resolution calling on the provincial government to ban the sale, trade and distribution of shark fins.
Alexa Huffman
