S6431-2011 Actions

• Jun 21, 2012: COMMITTED TO RULES
• Jun 18, 2012: AMENDED ON THIRD READING 6431A
• Jun 11, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Jun 6, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Jun 5, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.1043
• Feb 8, 2012: REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

S6431-2011 Meetings

S6431-2011 Calendars

S6431-2011 Votes

S6431-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S6431

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting
the possession, sale, offer for sale, trade or distribution of shark
fins

PURPOSE:
This legislation would prohibit the possession, sale, offer
for sale, trade or distribution of share fins.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 creates the definition of
shark for this section of law. This section further provides for a
definition of shark fun and prohibits the possession, sale, offer for
sale, trade, or distribution of shark fin. Section 1 further provides
the taking of shark fin for scientific research.
Section 2 is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
It is already illegal to fin a shark in New York.
However, there is no prohibition on the possession, sale, trade, or
distribution of shark fins. Already the West Coast (California,
Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Toronto have passed legislation
prohibiting the sale of shark fin.
Each year approximately 73 million sharks are killed to meet the
demands of shark fin. The decimation of the shark population has a
directly related negative impact to the entire oceanic food chain.
The process of filming a shark is cruel and inhumane. New York has
already banned the practice of finning from taking place in its
borders. This legislation will further protect sharks by not allowing
shark fin from being possessed, sold, or traded in New York.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act would take effect July 1, 2013.

S6431-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 
                                         6431
 I N  SENATE
 February 8, 2012
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GRISANTI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 

AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
 prohibiting  the  possession,  sale, offer for sale, trade or distrib
 ution of shark fins
 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section  1. 

Section 13-0338 of the environmental conservation law, as
 added by chapter 231 of the laws of 1992, paragraph a of  subdivision  1
 as  amended by chapter 308 of the laws of 1999, subdivision 4 as amended
 by chapter 428 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:

 

S 13-0338. Sharks; finning prohibited.
 1. For purposes of this section:

 a. "Shark" means any species of the [order Squaliformes except species
 in the suborder Batoidea, and] SUBCLASS ELASMOBRANCHII;
 b. "Finning" means the removal of a fin[, other than the caudal  fin,]
 from  a shark and not retaining the remainder of the shark's carcass[.];
 AND
 C. "SHARK FIN" MEANS THE RAW, DRIED OR  OTHERWISE  PROCESSED  DETACHED
 FIN, OR THE RAW, DRIED OR OTHERWISE PROCESSED DETACHED TAIL, OF A SHARK.
 2.  No  person shall engage in finning on the waters of the marine and
 coastal district.
 3. [No person shall possess shark  fins  in  the  marine  and  coastal
 district  unless  the  proper proportion of species, number, and size of
 shark carcasses is also possessed.]  EXCEPT  AS  OTHERWISE  PROVIDED  IN
 SUBDIVISION  FOUR  OF THIS SECTION, NO PERSON SHALL POSSESS, SELL, OFFER
 FOR SALE, TRADE OR DISTRIBUTE A SHARK FIN.
 4. THE DEPARTMENT MAY ISSUE PERMITS FOR THE POSSESSION OF A SHARK  FIN
 FOR BONA FIDE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.
 5. The department may, until December thirty-first, two thousand thir
 teen, fix by regulation measures for the management of sharks, including
 size  limits,  catch  and  possession  limits,  open and closed seasons,
 closed areas, restrictions on the manner of taking and landing, require
 ments for permits and eligibility therefor, recordkeeping  requirements,
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD14512-01-2
 
       S. 6431                             2
 requirements  on  the  amount  and  type of fishing effort and gear, and
 requirements relating to transportation, possession and  sale,  provided
 that  such  regulations  are  no  less restrictive than requirements set
 forth  in  this  chapter  and provided further that such regulations are
 consistent  with  the  compliance  requirements  of  applicable  fishery
 management plans adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis
 sion  and with applicable provisions of fishery management plans adopted
 pursuant to the Federal Fishery  Conservation  and  Management  Act  (16
 U.S.C. S1800 et seq.).
 

S 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.

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