At stage 1 of the Bill process, the Committee is concerned with the general principles of the Bill. The Committee hopes to hold evidence sessions to inform its scrutiny of the general principles of the Bill during May, June and September 2009. To inform evidence sessions, the Committee has issued this call for written views inviting individuals and interested parties for comment on the stated purposes of the Bill and their likely impact.
The Committee would welcome submissions from individuals and organisations that clearly and concisely highlight views on the broad …

In Scottish waters, sharks like the porbeagle and spurdog were once relatively common, but are now classed as “critically endangered”;  spurdog, also called Rock Salmon on menus, are estimated to be at 5 per cent of historic levels.
While “finning” – when the fins are cut off sharks with the body dumped back in the sea – has been banned in European waters, there is an alarming mismatch between the number of fins for sale and the number of sharks caught worldwide.
The fin of a basking shark, legally protected by Europe, …