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Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries: Stop the shark commercial fishing season
  1. Signatures
    192 out of 2,000
    Petitioning
    1. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
  2. Created By
    Matthew Morse
    White Bear Lake, MN

Sharks are endangered and their meat contains high levels of toxins.

According to http://www.theadvertiser.com/usatoday/article/38438471?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp,

"The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has set Feb. 15 as the opening date for the commercial coastal shark fishing season.

The season allows fishermen to kill great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, nurse shark, blacktip shark, bull shark, lemon shark, silky shark, spinner shark and tiger shark. Sandbar sharks can be caught only by fishermen with special federal permits.

The season will close between April 1 and July 1 to protect shark pupping."

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorized six of these eleven sharks (blacktip, bull, lemon, silky, spinner, and tiger) as "near threatened," three (nurse, sandbar, and smooth hammerhead) as "vulnerable," and the remaining two (scalloped hammerhead and the great hammerhead) as "endangered."

Commercial fishing will only serve to decrease their numbers further.

Additionally, as sharks are at the top of the food chain, they consume all of the toxins ingested by the creaures they eat. The chief danger of these is the highly poisonous methyl mercury.

Please ask the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to stop the shark commercial fishing season.

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Stop the shark commercial fishing season

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

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Stop the shark commercial fishing season

Sharks are endangered and their meat contains high levels of toxins.

According to http://www.theadvertiser.com/usatoday/article/38438471?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp,

"The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has set Feb. 15 as the opening date for the commercial coastal shark fishing season.

The season allows fishermen to kill great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, nurse shark, blacktip shark, bull shark, lemon shark, silky shark, spinner shark and tiger shark. Sandbar sharks can be caught only by fishermen with special federal permits.

The season will close between April 1 and July 1 to protect shark pupping."

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorized six of these eleven sharks (blacktip, bull, lemon, silky, spinner, and tiger) as "near threatened," three (nurse, sandbar, and smooth hammerhead) as "vulnerable," and the remaining two (scalloped hammerhead and the great hammerhead) as "endangered."

Commercial fishing will only serve to decrease their numbers further.

Additionally, as sharks are at the top of the food chain, they consume all of the toxins ingested by the creaures they eat. The chief danger of these is the highly poisonous methyl mercury.

Please ask the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to stop the shark commercial fishing season.
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Sincerely,

[Your name]