CT lawmakers poised to pass protections for sharks from a ‘cruel,' bloody practice. What to know

Yahoo

17-05-2025

After years of trying, Connecticut appears poised to join its neighbors in instituting a ban on a 'cruel' practice that has contributed to decreasing numbers of sharks throughout the world.
Shark finning is the practice of fishing sharks, cutting off their fins and tail and dumping them still alive back into the ocean where they inevitably die of drowning or blood loss. The fins are among the most profitable of all seafood, selling for hundreds of dollars per pound or over a $1,000 per fin, according to published reports.
The fins are particularly valued in parts of Asia, where they are served almost exclusively in shark fin soup. The dish, first served by emperors, was thought to have medicinal benefits and was considered a symbol of prosperity and hospitality.
Shark fin soup continues to be served in restaurants and at weddings, banquets and celebrations despite widening bans, thus demand continues. While shark fins, though themselves virtually tasteless, are prized, the rest of the shark is not and so fishermen trying to conserve space on their boats cast the mutilated animals overboard after slicing off their fins.
Today shark finning has been banned in most countries and the Chinese government has worked to discourage the practice but shark finning continues, with dried, processed and fresh fins sold throughout the world. A watchdog site listed a now-closed New Haven restaurant as offering the dish as well as numerous others in the U.S.
According to Oceana in 2023, 'Fins from as many as 73 million sharks end up in the global shark fin market every year.'
Connecticut is home to five species of sharks: the spiny dogfish, the smooth dogfish, the dusky shark, the brown shark, also known as the sandbar shark, and the sand tiger shark. Some of the species are protected from fishing.
Those species have been increasing as water quality has improved and the ecosystem recovers enough to support their need for abundant food, experts from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have said.
While shark finning has had a devastating impact on shark populations, bans and conservation efforts have helped species to rebound. In 2000, the U.S. passed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act, which was updated in 2010 to require all sharks except one species to be 'landed' with their fins attached. While those laws sought to end shark finning in U.S. waters, the sale and trade of shark fins in the country was still legal until 2023, when the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act took effect.
Several states have passed their own regulations, including New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Efforts in Connecticut were stalled over exceptions, now included in the 2025 House Bill 5012, which passed the House unanimously on Tuesday.
This year's bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, an environment committee member and former chair and now deputy speaker.
'It's important for Connecticut to continue to be a leader as far as protection of our wildlife,' he said by phone Friday. 'We have been witnessing at least in our lifetime the repopulation of some species that had long been gone from our state, that includes in the waters of Long Island Sound. So we want to keep that momentum going.'
Codifying a ban in Connecticut statutes will close any loopholes and discourage those 'looking to skirt the law … so maybe they'll reconsider this practice which is really the worst of the worst as far as treatment of animals,' Gresko said.
The bill says 'no person shall possess, sell, offer for sale, trade or distribute a shark fin.' It makes exceptions for 'any person who holds a license or permit to take or land sharks when separating a fin or tail from a lawfully landed shark during the ordinary course of preparing the body of the shark for consumption, sale, trade or distribution, provided such fin or tail that is separated from the shark shall be immediately destroyed unless it is used by such person for the purpose of personal consumption or taxidermy.' It also makes exceptions for scientific research or educational purposes.
Violating the proposed new law would be classified an infraction with an accompanying fine.
The exceptions that entangled previous years' versions of the bill are included in HB 5012: It does not protect any species in the order Batoidea or any smooth hound. That means rays and smooth dogfish sharks are exempt from the ban.
The exemptions mirror federal regulations, Gresko said. Rays and smooth dogfish have more abundant populations. Dogfish, a smaller fish, are fished commercially for their meat and are less likely to be discarded after finning. They also reproduce more quickly than the larger shark species, he said.
In written testimony, while supporting the bill, advocates including Rep. Mary Mushinsky, Annie Hornish, Connecticut state senior director of The Humane Society, Susan Eastwood, chapter chair of the Sierra Club and Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, all called for the exemptions for rays and smooth dogfish to be removed.
The bill has moved to the Senate calendar and is awaiting a vote.