National action urgently needed to save sharks from shark finning

'Sharks are integral to the well-being of marine ecosystems. They are also, unfortunately, highly vulnerable to human exploitation. Scientific research has shown that shark populations are rapidly declining at a critical rate, threatening many shark species with extinction.'

Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam is calling on Parliament to pass Bill S-238, which would ban the import and export of shark fins. While Canada currently prohibits the 'ecologically devastating' practice of cutting fins off a shark and throwing the animal back into the ocean to die slowly, it is the largest importer of shark fins outside Asia, she writes. Wikimedia photograph courtesy of Cloneofsnake

Opinion

BY KRISTYN WONG-TAM

March 15, 2018

Shark finning is the brutal and ecologically devastating practice of cutting fins off a shark and throwing the animal back into the ocean to die slowly. Canada prohibits this practice but continues to import products of shark finning. In fact, Canada is the

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