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ecology of our oceans. Every year new laws are passed by
nations around the world to try and regulate the amount of
sharks that are being consumed by the shark fin trade. In
fact, here in the United States it is now illegal to sell shark
fins in Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii. Elisabeth
Rosenthal (2011), a writer of environmental issues for the New
York Times, explains that many countries now (including the
U.S.) have implemented anti-finning at sea laws. For example,
a fishing boat in U.S. controlled waters can catch sharks and
sell their fins, but must first bring the shark with the fins
intact back to the port for inspection. Upon arrival at the port
an expert then boards the ship and examines the catch to
ensure that no endangered or protected species were caught.
Rosenthal (2011) views this regulation as a “halfway measure
to limit the fin trade”, and she states, “[S]hark-finning
prohibitions are ha