Hawaii Becomes First State to Ban Shark Fishing

​worldanimalnews.com/victory-hawaii-becomes-the-first-state-to-ban-shark-fishing/

Hawaii became the first US State to ban shark fishing in state waters with the bill coming in to effect January 1st, 2022. The bill makes it illegal to knowingly entangle, capture, or kill any shark within state waters and is applicable to all shark species that inhabit state waters. This monumental bill is aimed at protecting sharks and ending the shark fin industry that is decimating shark populations across the globe.

There are some stipulations to the bill that would continue to allow the slaughter of sharks including special permits and protecting yourself or another from a dangerous shark. While the provisions are unfortunate, the overall message is that sharks are incredibly important to marine ecosystems and it is not acceptable to kill them. The new law will protect sharks from needless slaughter and penalize those who knowingly harm sharks within Hawaii's state waters. 

Knowingly capturing, entangling, or killing a shark is now a misdemeanor that comes with some pretty steep penalties.

• $500 fine for a first offence
• $2, 000 fine for a second offence
• $10, 000 for a third offence.
• Civil fines not exceeding $10, 000
• Seizure of sharks, licenses, vessels, and equipment.

One can only hope that this is the beginning of the end for shark fishing. While it is nearly impossible to know exactly how many sharks remain in our oceans, what we do know is that nothing lasts forever. At the rate in which sharks are killed annually, who's to say we haven't already caused irreversible damage to their population? All of this on top of the fact that our oceans continue to suffer from pollution and the effects of climate change, sharks are fighting an uphill battle.

Hawaii has set the bar for the rest of the United States / our planet and we need to step up our game. There's no necessity in killing sharks, especially if it's for their fins. Let's get shark fishing banned across the globe!

HAPPY VEG