The measure - which the Senate passed Monday and the House passed Tuesday morning - requires any vessel to land sharks with their fins attached, and prevents non-fishing vessels from transporting fins without their carcasses. The practice of shark finning, which is now banned off the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico but not the Pacific, has expanded worldwide due to rising demand for shark's fin soup in Asia.

"Shark finning has fueled massive population declines and irreversible disruption of our oceans," said Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), the bill's author, in a statement. "Finally we've come through with a tough approach to tackle this serious threat to our marine life."

Each year, commercial fishing kills more than 100 million sharks worldwide – including tens of millions for just their fins. The requirement to land sharks whole, as well as a new prohibition on the transfer of fins at sea, will help end shark finning by U.S. fishing vessels.

Landing sharks with their fins still attached allows for better enforcement and data collection for stock assessments and quota monitoring. The Shark Conservation Act improves the existing law originally intended to prevent shark finning. It also allows the U.S. to take action against countries whose shark finning restrictions are not as strenuous, labelling the U.S. as a continued leader in shark conservation.

The Shark Conservation Act was originally introduced by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) and passed the U.S. House of Representatives in both the 110th and 111th Congress (H.R.81). The Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator John Kerry (D-MA). It passed the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in November 2009.

The bill will now return to the House for one final vote to accept the Senate version of the legislation before it can be signed into law.

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