Ban Shark Fins in Pennsylvania

Click link to sign my petition to Ban Shark Fins in Pennsylvania

Every year over 100 million sharks are slaughtered to meet consumer demand. Most are killed just for the fins. As a result, some shark populations have plummeted by 90% in the past sixty years. Shark finning is defined as the removal of a shark's fins and the wasteful discarding of the oftentimes living animal at sea.

Sharks play a vital role in the ocean's food chain and a major decrease in the shark population- or even extinction- could trigger things like out-of-control algae or the extinction of smaller animals such as scallops that we consume that rely on sharks to eat their predators. In short, the world's fishing fleets are killing sharks faster than they can reproduce and nature cannot keep up. Unless this situation is halted, shark populations face certain extinction.
Shark fin soup is not healthy and contains heavy metals like mercury and neurotoxins linked to degenerative brain diseases. Shark fins are also treated with hydrogen peroxide in order to make their color more appealing to consumers. The fins do not even add flavor to the soup, and is added for texture and has no nutritional value.
Without your support, the oceans face an uncertain future that could ultimately impact the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink.
I think our beautiful state of Pennsylvania should join Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, and Texas who have already banned the shark fin trade to protect the oceans and its sharks.