Image: Albert Kok
UPDATE: HB 1579 passed the Senate this morning 27-4! Thank you to all who supported this bill and urged your elected officials to vote for it!
Today is the last day to get House bills out of the Senate. One such bill needs your help. HB 1579, aka the “shark-finning” bill, authored by Rep. Eddie Lucio III (D-Brownsville), will prohibit the purchase and sale of shark fins that are detached from the carcass in Texas. Every year, between 25 million and 75 million sharks are killed in the world only for their fins. While the vast majority occur in Indonesia and off the coast of India, the practice also occurs in the U.S., including in Texas. The shark population is under great pressure from the commercial harvesting of the fins for export for food. Only the fins are removed and the body is discarded. Sharks are a top marine predator and the reduction in the shark population ripples through the marine ecosystem, including along the Texas coast.
The Sierra Club is supporting HB 1579 on both ecological and humanitarian grounds. This bill will not affect recreational shark fishing and recreational charters.
Please call your State Senator and tell them to support HB 1579. We especially need constituents of the following Senators to give their elected official a call:
Sen. Paul Bettencourt, District 7 – NW Houston /Cypress area – 512-463-0107
Sen. Konni Burton, District 10 – Fort Worth - 512-463-0110
Sen Craig Estes, District 30 – Wichita Falls -512-463-0130
Sen. Sylvia Garcia, District 6 – Houston on the east side – 512-463-0106
Sen, Juan Hinojosa, District 20 – McAllen – 512-463-0120
Sen. Don Huffines, District 16 – Dallas -512-463-0116
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, District 18 – Brenham down to the coast – 512-463-0118
Sen. Van Taylor, District 8 – Plano – 512-463-0108
Sen Carlos Uresti, District 19 – San Antonio – 512-463-0119
Sen. John Whitmire, District 15 – Houston – 512-463-0115
To find our who represents you in the State Senate, click here.
For more information, contact Cyrus Reed, 512-740-4086, cyrus.reed@sierraclub.org.