Video created by PangeaSeed and used by permission.

It is estimated that over 100 Million Sharks are killed annually for their fins and it is estimated that we have depleted the world's oceans' population of sharks by 90%. Shark finning refers to cutting off the fin of a shark and usually discarding the body at sea. The shark is often still alive when it is thrown back into the water. It is unable to swim and suffers a slow death. Ninety-five percent of the animal is wasted.
Shark finning usually takes place at sea so that fishermen only have the fins to transport, and thus can carry more in their holds.

Any shark is taken—regardless of age, size, or species, which includes baby sharks, pregnant sharks and critically endangered sharks. Even docile whale sharks are being targeted. Sharks are slow to reach maturity for reproduction and most give birth to live pups in small numbers. 

Shark finning violates the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries as more than 95% of the Shark is wasted.

Shark finning is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s International Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks
The United Nations Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) lists the whale shark, basking shark, and great white shark as species that could become threatened if trade is not controlled but many more species are also estimated to be critically threatened, such as hammerheads, the Oceanic White Tip and the Whale Shark. Many of these species have not even been studied comprehensively and are poorly understood.

Sharks are finned mostly to make shark fin soup. Shark Fin Soup is an Asian food eaten as a status symbol and fins add no nutritional or taste value to the soup. 

Last year, President Obama signed the Shark Conservation Act into law. The Shark Conservation Act requires that sharks must be landed with fins attached in all U.S. waters, and prohibits the transfer of shark fins at sea, but the Shark Conservation Act does not go far enough. Until the sale and distribution of shark fins are banned, sharks will be killed for their fins.

Please ask Governor McDonnell to join California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and Guam to ban the sale, trade and possession of shark fins in the United States.

Why should you care about sharks?

Sharks are an apex predator, like the lions and tigers of the sea. Without sharks, the ocean's ecosystems are at great risk of chaos and collapse. One only needs to look on land to see examples of what happens when apex predators are removed. A perfect example is the white-tailed deer overpopulation which causes accidents, damage, deaths to people and diseases in deer populations.  Humans depend on the ocean for food, tourism and perhaps most importantly, 50-85% of our oxygen supply.

Virginians have always had a close relationship to the sea and the Chesapeake Bay and there are critical habitats off Virginia's coastlines that support and are supported by sharks. This delicate balance is at risk, and since sharks are migratory, the decimation of sharks must be considered everywhere. Delegate Mark Sickles has proposed House Bill No. 1159 that reads:

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 28.2-303.1, relating to the possession or sale of shark fins; penalty.
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Patron-- Sickles
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Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 28.2-303.1 as follows:

§ 28.2-303.1. Possession or sale of shark fin prohibited; penalty.

A. As used in this section, "shark fin" means the raw, dried, or otherwise processed detached fin, or the raw, dried, or otherwise processed detached tail, of an elasmobranch.

B. Except as otherwise provided in subsection C or D, it shall be unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute a shark fin.

C. Any person who holds a license or permit issued by the Commissioner to take or land sharks for recreational or commercial purposes may possess a shark fin or fins consistent with that license or permit.

D. Before January 1, 2013, any restaurant that possessed a shark fin as of January 1, 2012, may possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute that shark fin if it is prepared for consumption.

E. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

There is no reason why Virginia shouldn't have this law on the books and be enforcing it.
Thank you!