H.R. 614

Shark Sales Elimination Act of 2019

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I

116th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 614

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 16, 2019

Mr. Ted Lieu of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To prohibit the sale of shark parts, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Shark Sales Elimination Act of 2019.

2.

Prohibition on sale of shark parts

(a)

Prohibition

Except as provided in section 3, no person shall possess, offer for sale, sell, or purchase any shark part or product containing any shark part.

(b)

Penalty

For purposes of section 308(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)), a violation of this section shall be treated as an act prohibited by section 307 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1857).

3.

Exemption for traditional fisheries, education, and science

Section 2 shall not apply with respect to possession of a shark part that was taken lawfully under a State, territorial, or Federal license or permit to take or land sharks, if the shark part is separated from the shark in a manner consistent with the license or permit and is—

(1)

destroyed or discarded;

(2)

used for noncommercial subsistence purposes in accordance with State or territorial law; or

(3)

used solely for display or research purposes by a museum, college, or university, or other person under a State or Federal permit to conduct noncommercial scientific research.

4.

Definitions

In this Act:

(1)

Shark

The term shark means any species of the orders Pristiophoriformes, Squa­tin­i­formes, Squaliformes, Hexanchiformes, Lam­ni­formes, Carchariniformes, Orectolobiformes, and Heterodontiformes.

(2)

shark part

The term shark part means any shark or raw, dried, or otherwise processed detached part of a shark.

5.

State authority

Nothing in this Act affects any right of a State or territory of the United States to adopt or enforce any regulation or standard that is more stringent than a regulation or standard in effect under this Act.