Ten Texas restaurants and markets in the Houston and Dallas area were charged with illegally selling shark fin products—including fins from several protected shark species.
Officials with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department seized several hundred pounds of shark fins from the businesses.
“Protecting the many shark species residing and migrating through the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the illegally trafficked sharks from around the world, offered for sale in Texas is one of our highest priorities,” said Col. Grahame Jones, Law Enforcement Director at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in a statement.
Shark fin soup has been banned in Texas and many other states and countries around the world.