- A US Senate committee has passed the SHARKED Act, a bill aimed at addressing shark depredation, which involves sharks removing hooked fish from fishing lines.
- The act establishes a task force to study shark behavior, improve coordination among fisheries management and research communities, and develop strategies to tackle depredation.
- Wildlife advocacy groups express concern that the bill does not explicitly prohibit the task force from recommending shark culls or population reductions, despite global shark populations declining significantly due to overfishing, climate change, and pollution.
- Critics also highlight that the task force's specified representation fails to include Indigenous, tribal, and native people, who consider sharks sacred.
- The task force is mandated to report its findings to Congress within two years of the bill's enactment, with experts noting that depredation is a complex issue reflecting ocean ecosystem health and increased competition for resources.
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