MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Shark finning has been outlawed in the U.S. since 2000.
That's the process of stripping living sharks of their fins, dumping the fish back in the water and leaving them to struggle for life, drown or bleed to death.
Two bills are currently moving through the Florida legislature to ban all fin sales, including those from fishing.
But scientists and fishermen say banning the import and export of fins in Florida will merely push the illegal trade underground, preventing regulation, and promote wastefulness by forcing local fishermen to throw away the fins on the sharks they catch.
