California’s legislature on Tuesday sent California Governor Jerry Brown a bill seeking to ban the sale, trade or possession of shark fins, over the objections of two state senators who called the measure racist because the fins are used in a soup considered a delicacy in some Asian cultures.
The bill has split the Asian delegation in the legislature. It was introduced by California Assemblyman Paul Fong (方文忠) and was supported by California state Senator Carol Liu (劉璿卿), who said it is needed to protect endangered shark species.
Others disagreed. State Senator Ted Lieu (劉雲平) said the bill would ban only part of the shark, while permitting the continued consumption of shark skin or steaks.
“This bill goes out of its way to be discriminatory,” Lieu said. “They single out one cultural practice.”
Critics of the practice, which already is restricted in US waters, estimate that fishermen kill 73 million sharks each year for their fins. They said it is particularly cruel because the wounded sharks often are returned to the ocean to die after their fins are removed.
The fins can sell for US$600 a pound (US$273 per kg) and the soup can cost US$80 a bowl.
State Senator Christine Kehoe said California has the highest demand for the fins outside Asia. She cited estimates that 85 percent of dried shark fin imports to the US come through California, giving the bill an impact beyond efforts to restrict the practice in the US and abroad.
“It’s our market here that drives the slaughter,” Kehoe said. “We are an importer and a broker worldwide.”
The proposed ban has been supported by celebrities — including actress Bo Derek and retired NBA center Yao Ming (姚明) from China. The state Senate approved the bill on a 25-9 vote.
It drew rare support from both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats during a lengthy debate.
Republican state Senator Tony Strickland called the practice “a barbarous and torturous act.”
“The shark just sits there and drowns. That’s equivalent to torture,” Strickland said.
Hawaii, Oregon, Washington state and several US territories in the Pacific have already taken steps to eliminate the shark fin trade.
However, state Senator Leland Yee (余胤良) cited a recent National Marine Fisheries Service report to the US Congress estimating that US imports and exports of shark fins last year were a fraction of 1 percent of the worldwide market.
“This bill doesn’t do anything for finning, because the federal government has already taken care of the problem,” he said.
Yee also objected to a second cleanup bill, also passed by the state Senate on Tuesday, that makes it clear that sport fishermen who catch a shark can still eat the fin or have the shark stuffed and mounted as a trophy.
“If you happen to be Chinese American and you’re not the fisherman, you can’t have the shark fin,” Yee said.
“It sends a very bad message, not only to us here in California, but throughout the rest of the world, that discrimination against Chinese Americans is OK,” Yee told senators moments later.
“We shouldn’t have to defend our culture any more than you others should defend your culture, because we ought to be respectful of each others’ culture,” he added.
Brown’s spokesman Evan Westrup said the governor has not taken a position on the bills.
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