Don't Eat Shark Fin Soup

 

Article courtesy of http://www.stopsharkfinning.net

So what's the big deal about shark fin soup? Does a bowl of soup really pose such a threat to the survival of sharks? Well, yes, it does. Read on and find out why...

 

 

Shark fin soup is a soup or broth of Chinese origin made with shark fin and flavoured with chicken or some other stock. The fin itself has very little flavour and it is used primarily to add texture to the dish and because it is seen as a delicacy. It is often served to guests at important events such as weddings and business banquets. Shark fin soup is not cheap - it can easily cost upwards of $100 per bowl, this fact has helped ensure a steady supply of fins as fishermen and middlemen (sometimes associated with mafia-type gangs) slaughter sharks wherever they can find them in order to satisfy the market. With the sudden increase in prosperity in the Far East, shark fin soup is being consumed in vast quantities, placing an unsustainable and crippling demand on shark populations.

 

 

Shark fin can be bought either frozen or dried, with the dried variety being available either shredded or as whole fins. The fins are often treated with hydrogen peroxide in order to make their color more appealing to consumers. The soup is often claimed to have health benefits, such as increasing your appetite, improving your kidneys, lungs and bones. However there is no evidence to support these claims and the reality is that shark meat is barely fit for human consumption. It has a very high level of mercury and the United States Environmental protection agency advises women and young children to stay clear of it. Click here to see the levels of mercury found in shark compared to other fish.

 

Recently removed shark fins.

 

Shark fin being dried on the deck.

 

A survey in 2006 by Wild Aid and the Chinese Wildlife Association showed that 35% of participants had consumed shark fin soup in the previous year. This equates to an immense number of sharks being taken from the ocean. Sharks take anything from 7 to over 20 years to reach maturity, meaning that it takes populations a long time to recover; the current demand for their fins makes it impossible for populations to return to previous levels. Sharks are top predators - when they are removed from the ocean the entire eco-system suffers.

 

Sharks have been around for 400 million years. Are we going to let them die out because of ignorance about the origins of what we eat and because of human arrogance? Would this still be going on if the soup was made with tiger paws instead of shark fins? Act now and find out what you can do to help save sharks.

What is shark finning?

 

Shark finning is the practice of slicing off the shark's fins while the shark is still alive and throwing the rest of its body back into the ocean where it can take days to die what must be an agonising death. Some sharks starve to death, others are slowly eaten by other fish, and some drown, because sharks need to keep moving to force water through their gills for oxygen. Shark fins are used as the principal ingredient of shark fin soup, an Asian "delicacy". Demand for shark fin soup has rocketed in recent years due to the increased prosperity of China and other countries in the Far East. Shark fin soup, which can easily cost $100 a bowl, is often served at wedding celebrations so that the hosts can impress their guests with their affluence. Because there is such a high demand for shark fins, traders can make a lot of money from shark fin, but it is the restaurant owners who really "make a killing" in this foul trade.

 

Fishermen are only interested in the fins because shark meat is of low economical value and takes up too much space in the hold. It also contains urea, which turns to ammonia once the shark has died and contaminates other fish.

 

Shark fin itself is tasteless, it just provides a gelatinous bulk for the soup which is flavoured with chicken or other stock. Many people, especially the consumers, are unaware of the sufferring that finning causes.

 

3 sharks are being killed every second so people

can use their fins to make shark fin soup.

To put it bluntly, shark populations have been decimated. Globally. Tens of millions of sharks are slaughtered every year to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup; at least 8,000 tonnes of shark fins are shipped to restaurants around the world. Fishermen report that sharks are getting smaller because they are not being given time to mature. Shark populations take a long time to recover as they can take over seven years to reach maturity and they only raise one or two pups a year. Twenty species of sharks are listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). In a few years many species of shark could become extinct if action is not taken immediately. Populations of many shark species have fallen by over 90%. Since 1972 the number of blacktip sharks has fallen by 93%, tiger sharks by 97% and bull sharks, dusky sharks and smooth hammerheads by 99%.

 

 

The consequences of the decline in shark populations on ocean life are immense. The large shark species are "apex" predators, they are ecological stablisers, once they are gone, all hell will break loose. For example along the US East Coast where large sharks such as black tip and tiger sharks have been virtually elimated, there have been declines in shellfish numbers and a reduction in water quality (shellfish filter sea water). Populations of small sharks, rays and skates have increased rapidly, consuming shellfish at an unsustainable rate. If you remove apex predators from an ecosystem the result is the same as removing the foundations from a building - total collapse.