WHAT MADE IT INTO THE BILL AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

On March 12th, 2020, just two days before the session officially came to an end, the Florida legislature passed SB680 with unanimous votes in both the Senate and House. It was named The Kristin Jacobs Ocean Conservation Act, after the bills’ House sponsor Kristin Jacobs. If Governor DeSantis signs it into law, this bill will make Florida the 14th State that takes a stand against the illicit shark fin business.

• The bill immediately makes it a violation of state law to import fins into Florida, and significantly strengthens state law enforcement’s ability to take action against those illegally harvesting and exporting fins.

• It closes Florida’s sea and airports as a conduit for fins from other states and foreign countries to enter the global market and mandates state law enforcement agencies to increase their efforts, in concert with Federal agencies, to inspect, intercept and seize fin shipments.

• It grants a TEMPORARY exemption for licensed commercial fishermen or wholesalers that operate in Florida, who were holding a valid federal shark fishing or wholesale permit on January 1, 2020. Licenses that will be obtained or transferred after this date will not be exempt. This does not mean permit holders are grandfathered in forever. This is pending the a study that will be conducted to evaluate the financial impact on fishers should the ban be expanded across the board.

• Sale and export of fins by any individuals that do not have the necessary permits are illegal. Today, anyone that catches a shark can sell fins to someone who can ship or mail those fins out of Florida.

• The bill expands enforcement of shark fin laws on land. Currently, with the “finning” and “landed-whole” provision, enforcement can only take place when someone is caught finning a shark in open water, or when the sharks are landed at the harbor, before the bodies are processed. Once the fins are separated, it is nearly impossible to say if a law was broken unless the fin is obviously from a protected or endangered species. This bill will allow law enforcement to act against anyone on land who does not have the permits and is attempting to sell fins or export them.

• The bill also clearly mandates that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be undertaking a study, the result of which will determine whether locally supplied fins should also be banned in the future.

We highly recommend you watch the video coverage of Kristin Jacobs presentation on the House Floor. It will show you how big of an impression this bill has made on the members of the legislature (starts at 3:37, ends at 17:00).

FLORIDA BILL FAQ’S

Why was an exemption necessary?

Even though we made it through all the committees with nearly unanimous votes, there was an underlying concern that kept re-surfacing. Several Representatives from districts that contained the most shark fishers and seafood distributors were getting enormous pressure from their constituents to kill the bill. As much as they saw the impact on a global scale, they were uncomfortable with taking income away from small businesses that were operating legally and following the law. They wanted the State Agency (FWC) to analyze the actual financial impact to show that an end to fin sales will not be detrimental to any business. We know most commercial fishers hold multiple licenses and do not live off fin sales alone. All this will be accomplished with the study. We did not see the wisdom in turning down banning the import just because a handful of local guys also sell fins. The order of magnitude is not comparable. In 2017 only 22 fishers were in the fin business at a total of $360,000 per year. Yes, from a principle point of view, we want that stopped, but from a political point of view, it was hard to justify. Rather than delay the whole bill until the analysis was accomplished, and let imports continue unchecked, the decision was made that the ban will be enacted with an exemption that can be repealed. Taking incremental steps is sometimes the most reasonable solution to give everyone assurance that due diligence is used in the process.

Aren’t all fin traders the same?

Florida is currently the biggest hub of shark fin trading in the United States. Although shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, Miami is a common stop for shark fins traveling from Central and South America on their way to Asia. Most recently, in February, 1,400 pounds of illegal shark fins, valued at nearly $1 million, were seized in Miami, shining a light on the severity of the issue. The new law effectively removes Florida from the trade by banning the import of all shark fins and to get a handle on the illicit sector of the trade. The local supplier of fins are legally licensed shark fishermen that land sharks whole and claim to be a minute part of the global trade. They claim that they are not finning and that they are following all federal and state laws. They are therefore not considered to be part of the “illicit” trade. Whether we agree or not is irrelevant. This is the perception and the official verdict.

Why didn’t you try harder to avoid amendments?

Making it through all six committees and ending up with a victory for sharks is something most people believed would never happen. There is more work to be done but ending the imports of fins was always the most important goal. The bill sponsors and the #NoFinFL advocates fought to the last second to avoid loopholes and settled on something that would open the door for a complete ban. The alternative was to insist on a complete ban and lose the whole plot. It is important to remember that this bill has now unified lawmakers, legislators, advocates, environmental organizations and leadership in the effort to end the trade of fins. Why not insist on a full ban and try again next year instead? There was no way to come back with another bill next session. If this was voted down or if it were vetoed by the governor, there wouldn't be a legislator, advocate or lobbyist that would touch this in a decade. Imports would continue indefinitely in this state, unless the federal bill makes it, which doesn't seem so likely now that the government might shut down or singularly focus on Coronavirus, health care, economic downturn, etc. The reality is that we live in a bubble and think these bills are so important, when most still see this as a fringe environmental cause. Getting the state bill finished was only possible because we had the momentum, right now. Florida faces immense challenges with Red Tide, sea level rise, ground water issues, pollution of lakes and wetlands, Sargassum seaweed... and those are just the environmental problems. Sharks are extremely hard to keep on the list of priorities.

Why was there criticism from some conservation groups?

The main motivation for criticizing the Florida bill seems to be the concern that this will affect how federal legislation will be dealt with. That’s a legitimate concern and we fully understand how hard it is to succeed with legislation. But the world cannot come to a standstill because there is one campaign that is afraid of what the next move may be. Aggressively opposing the Florida bill and scaring people into thinking it is “ill-conceived” or “pro-finning” legislation, inflaming the discussion with rhetoric that is meant to scare legislators, only protects your own unsuccessful campaign in a different part of the country. It is not the way to help the cause. All it does is paint the environmental movement as reactive and divided, as if we were not unified in our goals. Remember that the commercial fishing industry always remains unified and is therefore very effective. Local and regional politics are important. State fin bills have always been criticized as not being effective or limited in their jurisdiction. Naysayers have always come in after the fact and attacked legislation for not being perfect enough, while never actually offering their help when things were in progress. But let’s remember that the fin ban movement would not even exist if it wouldn’t have been for a few states taking the lead. Currently, 13 states passed fin bans, paving the way to a national ban. It doesn’t matter that half of those state bans may be less than perfect. Progress on a state level can help unlock the blocks that are thrown in our path to national and international agreements. The message from Florida leadership is clear, the state has decided to get out of the fin trade. That is a strong message from a state that is so influential in this nation’s politics.

In response to the attacks on the bill, Representative Kristin Jacobs authored a very clear rebuttal that serves to put things in perfective. Before you find fault in this legislation, please read her editorial that was published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel, "Letting the Perfect be the Enemy of the Good is Rarely a Smart Move."