以下是从Shark Saver寄给本人 的电邮复制然后翻译成中文。。。一切以英文版本为标准。
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file:///C:/DOCUME~1/XP/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtmlclip1/02/clip_image001.jpg 最近,美国非营利组织,Shark Savers 对外公布,加利福尼亚州政府已通过了在当地禁止鱼翅贩卖活动的方案,对保育鲨鱼的环保工作有了非常大的帮助。该项提案以25比8的票数在会议中通过。因此,加利福尼亚州,连同夏威夷,华盛顿,和俄勒冈已关闭了所有在当地经营鱼翅贩卖的市场。如任何人拥有或者进行鱼翅贩卖的经营或贸易活动,都属违法。 SharkSavers的负责人很感谢各环保组织和立法机关对于该法案的支持,因为这不只对鲨鱼族群起了保育效应,也对维持整个海洋生态系统作了努力。为了得到可以作为桌上顶级佳肴的鱼翅,鲨鱼被大量的捕捉,可是一旦在海洋生态里作为捕食者的鲨鱼群减少了,其它海洋生物的数量比例也会相对的受到影响,接而破坏了海洋生态系统的平衡。 每一年都有成千上万的鲨鱼被猎杀,基于鲨鱼群的繁殖数量并不多,再加上成年数年后它们才会有繁殖能力,过度的鲨鱼捕捉活动已导致了鲨鱼族群的数量大大的减少90%。国际自然及自然资源保护联盟(IUCN)的报告也显示有三分之一的鲨鱼种类已面临了绝种的危机。 调查显示有70%的美国亚裔人士和76%的加利福尼亚社群对于禁止鱼翅贩卖的活动表现支持。同时,也有一些鱼翅贸商和亚裔人士对此表明了他们反对的立场。无论如何,Shark Savers 的总监却说明海鲜对于制作亚洲料理有着重要的角色。如果鲨鱼的数量减少的话,很多用于准备亚洲料理的海鲜种类也会相继的减少,因此,鲨鱼的保育工作绝对是正确的,也反驳了许多的反对声音。 另外,也有法案说明鱼翅的贸易活动只被允许进行至2013年7月1日,但只限于贩卖2012年1余月1日前的鱼翅存货。 鲨鱼族群在海洋生态里已存活了400万年以上,也对维持海洋和地球生态健康有着重要的角色。对此加利福尼亚州禁止鱼翅贸易的举动,对保育鲨鱼和维持地球生态平衡的努力做出了贡献。 file:///C:/DOCUME~1/XP/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtmlclip1/02/clip_image001.jpg Dear Sen, The California Senate passedAB 376 to ban the shark fin trade, today. We thought you might like to read thetext of our press release:
Shark Savers is pleased to announce that theworld's embattled shark populations got a reprieve today as the Californiastate Senate passed a historic bill to protect all shark species from theenvironmentally destructive shark fin trade. The bill passed the Senate by avote of 25 to 8. It now moves to Governor Jerry Brown to be signed.
The passing of AB 376 was an especiallyimportant vote as California represents the largest economy in the world tothus far take a strong stand against the shark fin trade. California joins withHawaii, Washington and Oregon-states that already have shark fin bans inplace-effectively closing down all remaining ports and markets of the UnitedStates west coast from contributing to the shark fin trade.
Authored by Assembly memberPaul Fong (D- Mountain View) and Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael),California AB 376 makes it unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer forsale, trade, or distribute a shark fin. The bill was sponsored by Monterey BayAquarium and the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance and supported bya diverse coalition of organizations that included Shark Savers and thousandsof individuals.
"Shark Savers is proud to have workedwithin a coalition of a great organization and alongside the voters andlegislators of California to bring about this landmark protection ofsharks," said Michael Skoletsky, Executive Director of Shark Savers."Sharks deserve this win and the California people and legislature deserveto be congratulated for protecting not only sharks, but also the oceanecosystems."
Sharks have been shown to be important tooverall ocean health because, as the ocean's apex predators, they contribute tokeeping other species' populations healthier and in proportion. Marinebiologists have warned that, when shark populations are destroyed, the overallhealth of the ocean ecosystem declines rapidly and can ultimately collapse - aprinciple known as "trophic cascade."
As essential as sharks areto the oceans, they are being dramatically overfished, primarily to fill marketdemand for their valuable fins. Shark fins are used for shark fin soup, aluxury food item sometimes served at weddings and banquets.
Tens of millions of sharks are killed eachyear, many of which are targeted for their fins. Many shark populations havebeen decimated by as much as 90%. The International Union for Conservation ofNature (IUCN) reports that a full 1/3 of shark species face extinction. Sharksare especially vulnerable to aggressive overfishing because they reach sexualmaturity only after years and produce relatively few offspring in a lifetime.
Polls indicated 70% of the Asian Americancommunity and 76% of California voters supported the shark fin ban. Despitethis, AB 376 became an emotional battleground as shark fin lobbyists defendedtheir interests and some members of the Asian community felt a shark fin banunfairly impacted them.
However, Sue Chen, Director of Shark Savers,points out that, "Keeping shark populations healthy is in fact a powerfulsupport of Asian culture and cuisine. Asian cuisine is rich in seafood. If youdecimate the shark population, much of the seafood that we love in Asiancuisine and culture is certainly threatened. This is not an Asian issue, thisis a human issue."
A companion bill, AB 853. also passed that allowsales of shark fin until July 1, 2013 for all fin stock on-hand prior to Jan.1,2012.
Sharks have shaped marine life in the oceansfor more than 400 million years and are essential to the health of our oceans,which are the lifeblood of our planet. Today's ban on the shark fin trade inCalifornia gives sharks another chance to continue this valuable role in theoceans and the overall health of their ecosystems.
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