Right now 12 states (California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington,and three territories American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands) make it illegal to acquire, sell, or trade shark fins without exceptions. With about one-third of pelagic shark species vulnerable to extinction, this is very important.
But… what can we do?
A spread from my nonfiction children’s book If Sharks Disappeared, which you could always buy a copy and send to your rep if they don’t support the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2017.
Contact your senators or representatives:
Script for a phone call:
- Hi. I am a constituent from your district and I am calling to express my support of the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2017 (S.793). I would like congress to ban the trade and sale of shark fins without exceptions. Sharks are necessary to our world, without them we cannot survive. It is not only important to save sharks, it is vital to the health of our planet. Thank you.
Send them a ready-to-go letter:
Download Representative Letter
Preview of the letter to your representative. Suitable for all ages, written with children in mind.
Learn more about S.793 and shark finning from SHARK STEWARDS and SIGN THE PETITION.
Fight for sharks! And our planet.
P.S. If you are nervous about making the phone call, take a deep breath and remember that it is a person on the other side of the phone and that they too get nervous and make mistakes, they are not judging you. You are just one of many calls they get in a day. You can do it.