Obama accused of undermining shark conservation efforts

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Obama accused of undermining shark conservation efforts

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
theguardian.com, Thursday 30 January 2014 18.57 GMT

Barack Obama has been accused of weakening global shark conservation efforts by a federal plan to overturn state bans on shark fin soup and other products.

Democrats in Congress and a broad coalition of conservation groups say the US federal government is poised to overturn bans on the sale of shark fin soup in eight states, in support of a federal law that offers far more limited shark protection.

"The proposed regulation is actually setting conservation back," said Angelo Villagomez, a shark expert at the Pew Environmental Trust.

"The federal regulation would overturn the state and territorial shark fin bans. The states that banned the sale of shark fin soup would now have to allow the sale of shark fin soup."

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/30/barack-obama-shark-conservation-ban

[villager]

1. "Environmental" policy in this administration seems to be "Whatever Our Corporate Sponsors Allow Us

...to Do"

[kristopher]

3. Number 1: "Obama" isn't doing anything

Last edited Thu Jan 30, 2014, 11:32 PM - Edit history (1)

This is a constant situation that is encountered. Leading edge legislation at state or local levels is supplanted by weaker but more broadly applied federal legislation.

In this case the legislation was passed by Congress in 2010 and is just now at the stage where the responsible bureaucracy is ready to issue the relevant regulations to implement the law. (Yes, it often takes this long.)
Enacting this law isn't optional, btw.

It isn't as if the regulations are going to forbid the state laws. What will happen, though, is that the state regulations will become vulnerable to legal challenges based on the existence of the federal law. They may or may not withstand the challenge, and the states may or may not find a way to rewrite their laws to achieve the same effect while being compatible with the federal law.

I've found no analysis that predicts the outcome of such legal challenges nor any analysis that compares the total benefit in reduced take of enacting the federal regulations with the results achieved by the existing regulations.

Finally, even though NOAA is fisher friendly, they are also probably the most environmentally conscious bureaucracy in the federal government (and I'm looking at you EPA).

ETA link to NOAA 2012 Shark Finning Report to Congress
Pursuant to the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (Public Law 106-557)
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/domes_fish/ReportsToCongress/SharkFinningReport12.pdf


It is WRONG to make an issue of this and lay it at Obama's feet.

Wrong.

[stuntcat]

2. That's it.

I give up.. waving hands in the air like I just don't care..

not that I expected much from a president chosen by our electorate anyway.
not that I had anyone else to vote for.