#TBT: President Bill Clinton Bans Shark Finning

     On December 21st, 2000, Bill Clinton, in one of his last acts as president, signed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act. Introduced in the House with wide bipartisan support and passed in the Senate with unanimous consent, the bill banned the finning of sharks in American waters, the possession of shark fins by U.S.-flagged vessels, and the landing in port of shark fins that exceeded a certain weight threshold when compared to carcasses.

     Unfortunately, the law left a loophole regarding transshipment of fins in American waters by foreign vessels that was exposed in a court case challenging the seizure of 32 tons of shark fins by the United States. The loophole would later be closed when President Barack Obama signed the Shark Conservation Act of 2010.