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Toronto City Councillors voted this afternoon to adopt a city-wide shark fin ban, becoming the largest city in Canada to prohibit the sale of shark fin.

Passage of the legislation, initially proposed by City Councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam, John Parker, and Glenn De Baeremaeker, marks a huge win for Shark Truth, a Vancouver-based non-profit that promotes shark education and conservation. The organization recruited nearly 10,000 people to join a campaign on Change.org urging Toronto’s City Councillors to vote in favor of the city-wide shark fin ban.

"For a city the size and influence of Toronto to pass a shark fin bill is a historic moment for Canada,” said Claudia Li, founder of Shark Truth. “Councillors are setting an example of how we can protect sharks from the wasteful practice of finning."

More than 2,600 people have joined a growing online campaign calling on the City of Toronto to ban the sale, distribution, and possession of shark fins.

The news follows the passage of a shark fin ban in California, home to the largest market for shark fins in North America. California Governor Jerry Brown signed a statewide shark fin ban (AB 376) into law Sunday, signaling a major success for a growing movement to protect shark populations. The move came after nearly 28,000 people joined an online campaign on Change.org started by the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance, one of AB 376’s sponsors.

“Like California, Toronto has the highest number of Chinese consumers in their nation,” said Claudia Li, the founder of Canadian shark conservation non-profit Shark Truth. "The signing of this bill is a historic moment for sharks. Our southern neighbours are showing us, and Toronto, the urgent steps we need to take to protect this misunderstood, vulnerable species."

Governor Jerry Brown signed the California shark fin ban, AB 376, into law on Friday, making California the the fourth state to pass a ban on the sale of shark fins.

Shark finning is a process by which fishermen catch sharks, slice off their fins and tails, then throw the fish back into the water to die. Up to 73 million sharks are killed through finning every year, pushing some shark populations to decline by as much as 90 percent in recent years. About 85 percent of U.S. shark fin consumption occurs in California.

The bill’s passage marks a huge win for the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance (APA Alliance), an organization that formed to give voice to Asian Americans who support the ban on the sale of shark fins. Bill Wong, a member of the APA Alliance, recruited more than 25,000 people to join a campaign on Change.org calling for passage of the ban. The APA Alliance was one of the bill’s sponsors, organized call-in days, and was instrumental in pushing Gov. Brown to support AB 376.

Tens of thousands of people have joined a popular campaign on Change.org demanding Governor Brown sign a bill by Sunday, October 9th, that would ban the sale of shark fin in California.

Bill Wong, a concerned member of the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance (APA Alliance), launched the campaign after learning that demand for shark fin soup results in the death of 73 million sharks each year. California, Wong’s home state, represents about 85 percent of the total U.S. shark fin trade.

“AB 376 is critical to the survival of sharks because all of Asia is watching what California is doing,” said Wong. “By signing this bill, Governor Brown would make California the tipping point in the global effort to save the species and protect the ocean ecosystem."

The California shark fin ban, AB 376, cleared all of its legislative hurdles, passing in both the House and the Senate. Now the important ocean conservation bill needs just one more thing to become law — Governor Jerry Brown's signature.

Gov. Brown was expected to decide AB 376's fate this week, but the decision was pushed back until October 9, 2011. That gives the opposition more time to pressure the governor into vetoing the shark fin ban, but it also gives us supporters the opportunity to highlight the need for AB 376. You can contact the governor and let him know that California needs a ban on shark fin by signing this petition.

Procuring shark fins involves a cruel process called "finning," where fishermen cut off the fins and tails of live sharks and then throw them back into the ocean to drown or bleed to death. Finning is decimating shark populations, killing nearly 73 million sharks every year and causing declines of 90 percent in some species' populations. The loss of a top predator like sharks wreaks havoc on ocean ecosystems. For that reason, a few states and countries have already enacted legislation banning the sale of shark fins.

California's shark fin ban (AB 376) is just one step away from becoming law. After passing both and the House and Senate, the bill is now on Gov. Brown’s desk, where he can either sign or let it die.

Gov. Brown will likely make his final decision on Wednesday, September 28^th. Your call on Monday, September 26th, supporting AB 376 is critical for the fate of sharks. The shark fin trade is especially huge in California, which represents about 85 percent of the total U.S. shark fin consumption. A ban on shark fin in California would make waves across the U.S. and throughout the world’s oceans.

Fin importers and the restaurant industry are spending big money to lobby the governor to veto AB 376, enlisting the help of politicos like Willie Brown and Pius Lee to put pressure on the governor. Right now is a crucial time for ocean supporters to rally around the passage of AB 376.

That’s why the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance (APA Alliance) is holding a call-in day Monday, September 26^th. It’s easy to get involved. Just follow these simple steps:

1) Dial the general number for Governor Brown: 916-445-2841. Press "2" on the list of call options to "voice your opinion on legislation."

2) Press "0" to speak to a representative and say you want to leave a message about AB 376 for Gov. Brown.

3) Use this script to voice your support for AB 376, or leave your own message. The more personal the story, the better. “California elected Jerry Brown to be governor, not lobbyist Willie Brown. Please reject backdoor power politics for hire by the shark fin industry and do what's right for the environment...please sign AB 376 into law...the survival of sharks and the ocean will depend on it.”

4) You can also email the Governor’s office by using this online form. The more ways we can apply pressure on Gov. Brown, the better.

5) Tell us how the call went by filling out this quick survey: https://changedotorg.wufoo.com/forms/yes-i-made-a-call-for-sharks/

Chicken of the Sea, one of the largest canned tuna brands in the U.S., sports a happy, smiling mermaid as its logo. But if mermaids were real and living in the ocean, they certainly wouldn't be happy with Chicken of the Sea.

The seafood company uses a number of disastrous methods to catch its tuna, putting entire ocean ecosystems at risk. Greenpeace started a petition here on Change.org demanding that Chicken of the Sea stop its unsustainable and destructive practices.

There are a few specific fishing methods Greenpeace wants Chicken of the Sea to stop. First, the non-profit wants the company to stop using "fish aggregating devices" (FADs), which are essentially objects floating in the open sea. They are designed to catch skipjack tuna, but a variety of fish and other animals flock to these FADs  for shade and protection. When fishing boats scoop up the catch, they get a tremendous amount of bycatch, including sharks, rays, and juvenile yellowfin and bigeye tuna, all of which are in real trouble. FADs increase bycatch by 500 to 1,000 percent when compared to nets set on free-swimming schools of skipjack tuna.

More than 24,000 people have joined an online campaign urging Governor Jerry Brown to pass AB 376, the bill that would ban the sale of shark fin in California.

AB 376 passed the Assembly in May and recently passed in the Senate last week. The only remaining step is for Governor Brown to sign the bill into law.

The Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance (APA Alliance), an organization formed to give voice to Asian Americans who support a shark fin ban, is urging Governor Brown to move quickly on the legislation. Nearly 25,000 people have signed the APA Alliance’s petition to Governor Brown on Change.org, the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change.

In a momentous move for the environmental community, the California Senate passed AB 376, the statewide ban on the sale of shark fin. AB 376 will now move on to Governor Jerry Brown, who will hopefully sign the bill into law.

Getting senators to approve AB 376 was certainly an uphill battle. Lobbyists fought hard to get lawmakers to vote against the legislation, claiming that it was an assault on Chinese-American culture. Shark fin soup is a Chinese dish served at important events like weddings and retirement parties. While states like Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon have already banned the sale of shark fins in their states, the vast majority of U.S. shark fin consumption occurs in California, so AB 376 was especially contentious in the state.

Members of the Asian-American community served a crucial role in getting legislators to pass AB 376. The Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance (APA Alliance), for example, formed to give voice to Asian Americans who support a shark fin ban. The APA Alliance started a petition on Change.org urging lawmakers to vote in favor of AB 376. More than 23,000 Change.org members have signed onto the campaign so far, and people can continue to sign the petition until Governor Brown signs AB 376 into law.

The California Senate is poised to vote on A.B. 376, the bill to ban the sale of shark fin in the state, as early as today, September 1.

More than 21,000 people have signed an online campaign on Change.org, the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change, urging senators to approve the shark fin ban. With many senators still on the fence about the legislation and lobbyists urging lawmakers to vote against AB 376, activists and environmental organizations are working to quickly rally support for the bill.

The campaign on Change.org was started by Bill Wong, a member of the Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliance (APA Alliance), a group formed to allow Asian American citizens to voice their support for a ban on the sale of shark fin.

“It is absolutely critical for supporters of AB 376 to call their senator today to urge them to vote yes on the bill,” said Wong. “For a script and a link to a directory of state senators, they can click on http://yesonab376.org.”