The Texas Senate has voted down the “shark fin bill.” The bill (SB 572), had it been passed into law, would have prohibited the sale, purchase, trade, and transportation of shark fins within the state of Texas.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Senator Troy Fraser spoke against the bill arguing that fishermen who catch sharks should be able to sell whatever part of it they choose. The bill needed permission from 21 senators to reach the floor for a vote. Fraser’s speech managed to sway enough senators to prevent the bill from being voted on.

Shark finning is already illegal on a federal level. However, supporters of the bill argue that legislation on the state level is necessary, since the profits from shark finning outweigh the current federal fines.

2013 Kids Ocean Day – Artwork designed by Adam Mendoza – Photo by Lou Dematteis

Press Release – Kids Ocean Day

More than 3,500 Los Angeles kids, teachers and volunteers form a giant kid, designed by 8th grader Adam Mendoza, holding a seashell to its ear as the ocean says "Listen" as part of the 20th Annual Kids Ocean Day Adopt-A-Beach Clean-Up organized by the Malibu Foundation, City of Los Angeles, Spectral Q, Keep LA Beautiful and the California Coastal Commission in Los Angeles on May 16, 2013. The kids are alerting the world about the need to listen to the ocean and protect it from the everyday trash and plastic litter that flow down the streets, killing marine life and polluting food resources.

Kudos to all those who participated in this year’s Kids Ocean Day at Dockweiler State Beach. Not only did the participants join together to make some very cool “aerial artwork,” they also contributed their time and hard work to help clean up the beach!

WVSN-TV reports that photographer Guillaume Bauch captured some relatively rare underwater shots of a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) off the Florida Keys. The WVSN-TV report does seem to go a bit overboard with terms like “monster shark” and “cold-blood killer,” but Bauch’s account of the encounter manages to steer clear of such cliches.

Bauch was planning on photographing hammerhead sharks, but the hammerheads never showed. Bauch was beginning to think the trip would end in disappointment. Fortunately, a dorsal fin eventually appeared, but it was not that of hammerhead or silky shark, which are typical for the area. Instead, it was the dorsal fin of a white shark.

Bauch initially opted to photograph the white shark from a cage, but soon left the cage and photographed the shark in open water. Based on Bauch’s photos and reaction in his interview with WVSN-TV, it seems like he had a pretty good trip, after all.

The New York Daily News reports that the New York State Assembly voted unanimously in favor of a bill (A07707) that would prohibit the possession, sale, offering for sale, trade or distribution of shark fins in the state of New York. The Senate bill (S6431) was passed in April, and the bill now heads to Governor Andrew Cuomo for review. If the bill is signed into law by Gov. Cuomo, the shark fin ban will go into effect on July 1, 2014.

The Delaware Senate also passed a bill (HB 41) that would "forbid possession, sale, offer for sale, and distribution of shark fins in the State of Delaware." The bill was passed by the House in April and is now awaiting the signature of Governor Jack Markell.

According to a CBS Dallas/Fort Worth report, the Texas “shark fin bill” (HB 852) was passed yesterday by the Texas House of Representatives with a 87-42 vote. The Texas Senate will vote on the bill (SB 572) next.

If signed into law the measure would prohibit the sale, purchase, trade, and transportation of shark fins within the state of Texas. While similar legislation has been signed into law in other U.S. states, Texas would be the first Gulf Coast state to pass legislation banning the sale and trade of shark fins.

An “environmentally-friendly” type of shark net is going through a trial run off the coast of Fish Hoek, South Africa, according to a BBC report. The trial run is a response to shark attacks in the region, which is well-known for its great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) population. While other regions of South Africa have already been using shark nets, the net system being deployed in the Western Cape offers a new approach to shark nets.

“Traditional” shark nets, which consist of anchored gills nets, have been controversial in the past, due to their indiscriminate nature of trapping various forms of marine. Traditional shark nets deployed in Durban, SA are responsible for killing “600 sharks and other sea creatures” over the past year, according to some claims. Additionally, some opponents question the effectiveness of these types of nets in preventing shark attacks.

The nets being deployed at Fish Hoek, however, were co-opted with conservation group Shark Spotters who are helping to coordinate the trial of what are described as environmentally-friendly “barrier nets.” These nets are designed with a small mesh size with the intent of preventing marine life from being trapped in the nets. The nets are deployed in the morning and removed at night to further reduce the impact on the marine ecosystem.

The Western Cape region generates an annual $2.2 billion in tourism. While the task of deploying and removing environmentally-friendly barrier nets on daily basis may seem like an expensive undertaking, proponents of the program believe it’s a worthwhile investment.

On a related note, Africa Check has offered up some commentary noting some “glaring errors” in the initial BBC article on South Africa’s new shark nets.