2/17/99 -- Fears that imported shark fins may pose a health risk as well as opposition to the "finning" process have prompted Hawaiian officials to seek a ban on the shark-fin trade.

The measure, approved by the State House Judiciary Committee yesterday, would ban the sale, possession, purchase or trade of shark fins and would require that sharks be landed whole in Hawaii. Texas and Maine have already enacted bans on shark finning, the practice of catching a shark, removing its fins and throwing it back in the water to die.

The fins are used for the popular shark-fin soup in Asia and Hawaii and can sell for as much as $50 a pound. Bob Endreson, president of the Hawaii Fishermen's Foundation, pushed legislators to follow the lead of Texas and Maine in enacting bans on shark finning, noting that bans in those states have not impeded fishermen, interstate trade or the state economy.

Further urging lawmakers, Enderson cited National Marine Fisheries Service statistics which show of the sharks harvested and delivered by longline vessels in Hawaii 86 percent of the sharks are caught alive. James Cook, chairman of the regional fisheries council, asked the state's Finance Committee, which now has the bill, to defer action.