Calgary city council to draft shark fin ban bylaw

July 16, 2012  

Calgary city council has voted 13-2 to draw up a bylaw to ban the distribution and sale of shark fins.

The City of Calgary
City Clerk’s Office

NOTICE OF MOTION

NM 2012-32

2012 07 16

RE: Shark Finning
Alderman Pincott

WHEREAS, The City of Calgary is a recognized leader in environmental initiatives;

AND WHEREAS, the practice of “shark finning,” where a shark is caught and its fins removed and then returned to the ocean fatally wounded has been banned in Canada since 1994;

AND WHEREAS, an estimated 70 million sharks are slaughtered each year for theirfins, a rate at which experts expect could result in the loss of several shark species, threatening ocean ecosystems and biodiversity;

AND WHEREAS, sharks are apex predators in the ocean food-web and as such are bioaccumulators;

AND WHEREAS, the consumption of shark products can present a danger to human health due to the bio-accumulation of toxic substances such as mercury;

AND WHEREAS, as a result of the threat to shark populations, biodiversity and human health, many communities across the country are taking action to reduce the local demand for shark fin and shark fin products;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Administration prepare a bylaw to ban possession or distribution and consumption of shark fin and shark fin products in the City of Calgary to bring to City Council no later than October 2012.

 Source: The City of Calgary, located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada