REPORT TITLE: 
Shark Finning Prohibited


DESCRIPTION:
Strictly limits the harvesting and landing of shark fins.
Exempts vessels that do not off-load cargo in the State or its
territorial waters.  (SD2)


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1947
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO FISHERIES.


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the vast ocean area
 
 2 surrounding the State has historically contained bountiful
 
 3 natural resources and productive fisheries that have had great
 
 4 commercial, recreational, social, cultural, and sustenance values
 
 5 to Hawaii's people.  Many of these fisheries are now in decline
 
 6 and in critical need of effective conservation and management
 
 7 measures to prevent further decline and to create a pattern of
 
 8 sustainable use for future generations.  One of the fisheries
 
 9 that has shown the most urgent need for conservation and
 
10 management is the shark fishery.
 
11      Sharks are one of the top predators in the marine food chain
 
12 and play an important role in our ocean's ecosystem.  Sharks have
 
13 characteristics that make them more vulnerable to overfishing
 
14 than most fish, and data from state, federal, and international
 
15 agencies show a decline in the shark populations both locally and
 
16 worldwide.  Unlike other fish species, most sharks do not reach
 
17 sexual maturity until seven to twelve years of age and then only
 
18 give birth to a small litter of young.  Thus, sharks cannot
 
19 rebuild their populations quickly once they are overfished.
 
20      About one hundred thousand sharks (two thousand metric tons)
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1 are taken each year by Hawaii-based longliners.  Data from log
 
 2 books and observers indicate that eighty-six per cent of the
 
 3 shark are alive when brought to the boat but are killed just for
 
 4 their fins; approximately sixty per cent are then finned.  That
 
 5 means once caught, the fins are removed, and the carcasses are
 
 6 discarded.  These fins are landed in Hawaii as unreported,
 
 7 untaxed catch.  An additional one hundred fifty metric tons of
 
 8 shark fins are taken elsewhere in the Pacific, and are then
 
 9 transhipped unreported and untaxed into and through the State.
 
10      The legislature finds shark finning to be a wasteful and
 
11 inhumane practice, and the landing of unreported shark fins
 
12 contributes little if anything to the economy of this State.  The
 
13 purpose of this Act is to prevent the practice of shark finning
 
14 by requiring that sharks caught in the territorial waters of the
 
15 State be landed whole.
 
16      SECTION 2.  Chapter 188, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
17 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
18 read as follows:
 
19      "§188-     Sharks; prohibitions; administrative penalties.
 
20 (a)  No person shall knowingly harvest shark fins from the
 
21 territorial waters of the State, or land shark fins in the State,
 
22 unless the fins were taken from a shark landed whole in the
 
23 State.  As used in this subsection:
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1      "Land" or "landed" means when the shark or any part thereof
 
 2 is first brought to shore.
 
 3      "Shark fin" means the raw or dried fin of a shark with the
 
 4 shark carcass removed.
 
 5      "Whole" means the entire shark with its head and flesh
 
 6 intact, allowing for the removal of the blood, internal organs,
 
 7 and tail at sea.
 
 8      (b)  Any person violating this section or any rule adopted
 
 9 thereunder shall be subject to:
 
10      (1)  Seizure and forfeiture of shark fins, commercial marine
 
11           license, vessel, and fishing equipment; and
 
12      (2)  An administrative fine of not less than $5,000 and not
 
13           more than $15,000.  In addition, the violator may be
 
14           assessed administrative fees and costs, and attorney's
 
15           fees and costs.
 
16      (c)  Any criminal prosecution or penalty imposed for
 
17 violation of this section or any rule adopted thereunder shall
 
18 not preclude seizure and forfeiture pursuant to chapter 712A, or
 
19 the imposition of any administrative fines and costs or
 
20 attorney's fees and costs under this section.
 
21      (d)  This section shall also apply to vessels registered
 
22 pursuant to section 200-31 when fishing outside the territorial
 
23 waters of the State; provided that the enforcement of this
 

 
Page 4                                                     1947
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1 section on vessels registered pursuant to section 200-31 when
 
 2 fishing outside the territorial waters of the State shall not
 
 3 apply if enforcement of this section is in violation of, or in
 
 4 conflict with, federal law."
 
 5      SECTION 3.  Section 187A-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended by adding two new definitions to be appropriately
 
 7 inserted and to read as follows:
 
 8      ""Harvest" means the taking and retaining of marine life by
 
 9 any means whatsoever.
 
10      "Shark" means any member of the class Chondrichthyes,
 
11 including but not limited to:  inshore species of galapagos shark
 
12 (Carcharhinus galapagensis), reef blacktip shark (Carcharhinus
 
13 melanopterus), gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos),
 
14 big-nosed shark (Carcharhinus altimus), tiger shark (Galeocerdo
 
15 cuvier), blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus), smooth
 
16 hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena), reef whitetip shark
 
17 (Triaenodon obesus), scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini),
 
18 sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), offshore species of white
 
19 shark (Carcharodon carcharias), shortfin mako shark (Isurus
 
20 oxyrinchus), silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), blue shark
 
21 (Prionace glauca), whale shark (Rhincodon typus), thresher shark
 
22 (Alopias vulpinus), oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus
 
23 longimanus), cookie cutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis), and
 

 
Page 5                                                     1947
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1 megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios)."
 
 2      SECTION 4.  This Act shall not apply to vessels that do not
 
 3 off load cargo in the State of Hawaii or its territorial waters.
 
 4      SECTION 5.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that
 
 5 matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were
 
 6 begun before its effective date.
 
 7      SECTION 6.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
 8      SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.