ACTION: Call or write your Assembly Member and your State Senator. Urge them to Sponsor the bill to ban the shark fin trade.

1. Identify your Assembly Member and your Senator

NY Assembly: Bill No. A.7707a (Maisel, Meng)

To find the name and contact information for the Assembly Member for your district: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?sh=search

To find the name and contact information for the state Senator for your district: http://www.nysenate.gov/

2. Determine whether your Assembly Member or Senator are on the key committee

The bill will be considered first by the Environmental Conservation Committees of the two legislative bodies. If your Assembly Member or Senator is a member of one of those Committees, it is especially important to contact them and urge that they sponsor the bill.

NY Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee members

Calls to your legislators will probably not require much discussion. But, it's good to know why you're calling!

Remember: you are asking your Assmembly Member or Senator to SPONSOR the bill.

New York should ban the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins.

• Every year, tens of millions of sharks are killed with their fins used to make shark fin soup. The value of the fins is much greater than the meat. The demand for the fins is the primary driver behind the high level of slaughter.

• Current federal and state laws (N.Y. Env Law §13-0338) prohibit shark finning, but do nothing to address the issue of the shark fin trade in the state. The global trade in shark fins is highly unregulated and can include fins from finned sharks and overfished stocks. Shark fins sold in New York can and do come from a multitude of countries that have weak or no shark finning regulations or shark fishing management.

• One of the fastest and most effective way to protect sharks is to eliminate the market for their fins. New York is one of the largest markets for shark fins outside Asia with at least several dozen restaurants and banquet halls selling shark fin soup in New York City alone. We believe it to be the largest port of entry for shark fins on the East Coast and a major supplier for shark fins sold in other states.

• A similar ban has already been enacted on the entire West Coast – California, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii, in addition to U.S. territories Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. New York should join them and no longer permit the unsustainable trade in shark fins.

• Similar legislation is pending in Maryland and Illinois, was introduced in Virginia and may be introduced soon in other East Coast states.

4. Sign our petition to Ban the Fin

Click the link above to sign our petition and forward it to your friends and family. Later in the campaign, we will submit the New York signatures to the legislature. (Everyone can sign this petition--even if you are not a New York resident. We will use your signature to support legislation in your state.)

Thank you for taking action and speaking out for sharks!