House Bill 17-94, the groups said, shows that the CNMI protects its sharks.
Introduced by House Minority Floor Leader Diego T. Benavente, the bill was passed by the Senate with amendments.
The House must accept the Senate version before it goes to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial for his approval.
The bill will impose six-month imprisonment and up to $30,000 fine on those who will be caught possessing, selling and distributing sharks fin in the CNMI.
Wild Aid’s Peter Knights and Shark Savers Michael Skoletsky said the bill recognizes sharks as “an essential element of the ocean’s ecosystem” because of their role as the “apex predators of the sea.” The measure, they added, will stop the severe over-fishing of sharks worldwide to feed the “status-driven” demand for shark fin soup.
The groups also noted that H.B. 17-94 is similar to one recently passed by Hawaii.
Palau, they added, has also taken a bold stand to protect its sharks.
Knights said “the CNMI Senate’s move takes the commonwealth one step closer to stopping the shark fin trade, perhaps the most wasteful and destructive practice affecting ocean life.
“It’s heartening to see the CNMI taking the lead among Pacific islands to adopt tough anti-shark-fin-trade laws to protect their nation’s wildlife and resources from such destruction,” Knights added.
He said the combination of overfishing and inability to overcome it through reproduction has resulted in alarming shark population declines in recent decades.
Skoletsky said increasingly, the nations and territories most dependent on the ocean are rallying to defend the sharks, “perhaps the ocean’s most important inhabitants.”
“The CNMI’s intelligent decision to preserve sea life will benefit future generations and attract lucrative underwater tourism, rather than allowing foreign fisheries and shark fin cartels to plunder its resources,” he said.
Sharks play a vital role in regulating the health of important commercial fish species, population balance and coral reefs.
Despite this importance, up to 73 million sharks are killed annually for their fins, with some shark populations declining by as much as 90 percent.
