Sacramento — The California Assembly overwhelmingly approved a ban on the sale and distribution of shark fins in California, moving the state one step closer to outlawing an ancient Chinese delicacy and keeping alive a debate that has split the ethnic community.
The lower house approved the bill, AB376, on a 62-8 vote Monday afternoon after a long floor debate. If the measure is approved by the state Senate, shark fin soup – a popular tradition at Chinese celebrations including weddings – would be illegal in the Golden State beginning Jan. 1, 2013.
The law takes aim at a practice known as finning, in which a shark's fins and tails are cut off before the animal is thrown back into the ocean to die. Supporters say that businesses in California have skirted a U.S. law banning the practice by buying fins collected in international waters and noted the catastrophic collapse in the worldwide shark population in recent years.
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