Shark Fin Soup Anyone?

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/opinion/sunday/souring-on-shark-fin-soup.html?_r=1&
Link to picture: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2012/08/whats-in-your-shark-fin-soup/

        Bonni Tsui published the article "Sourcing on Shark Fin Soup" in the NY Times on June 29th, 2013. Having grown up in China, Tsui realizes the problem China has with their consumption of shark fins. She explains in the article that China consumed and killed "3,100 metric tons, the amount of shark fin imported last year (excluding December)." They usually eat Shark Fin soup on special occasions and only the rich could afford it. Recently the upper middle class had started to be able to afford this "delicacy" and that's the problem.

This shows the common sharks that are used
in the United States for shark fin soup. For
example, in Boston usually the endangered
scalloped hammerhead is used.

        To fin a shark, they catch the shark, slice the fin off, and release the shark. They has been many efforts to try and deter China from this practice. Some being WildAid, a San Francisco agency, began a TV campaign using public service announcements from famous Asian-Americans such as Jackie Chan and Ang Lee. They tried to make shark finning socially unacceptable.


        The majority of China didn't open their eyes until a campaign from WWF-Hong Kong. They persuaded 150 corporations to stop this practice at their function, like HSBC and Alibaba.   Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts at its 116 properties stopped serving shark fin soup. Chinese government also explained that they would stop serving shark fin soup at official state banquets. CCTV, China’s largest television network, said that the majority of shark fin served at top restaurants were fake and that real shark fin had tons of mercury and didn't really have nutritional value.


       It was reported that they was a 50 to 70 percent sales decline in 2012. New statistics from the Census and Statistics Department show fin imports during the beginning of 2013 was down another 40 percent from the first quarter of 2012. Chinese brides to be also stopped requesting that shark fin soup be served at their weddings.


        In my opinion, Shark finning is awful. Being interested in Marine Biology and the working of the ocean, it pains me to think that people would actually participate in this activity. Also, it is shown that the shark fin doesn't even provide flavor to the soup and is virtually tasteless. So I'm confused on why people would even what to do that.


        Thinking back to what we learned in biology, mercury bio accumulates as it makes its way through an ecosystem. Obviously sharks are high in the food chain so they will likely have higher traces of these chemicals. Even though there is probably not much fatty tissue in the fin, there is probably enough to still be deadly to us. Also when people run out of sharks to fin then the ocean ecosystem will be greatly affected.


        I'm glad that China finally cam to their senses and stopped this madness. Although it took them  long time to stop and many sharks were harmed and killed, it's better then never stopping because at least no more sharks will be killed for their fins. I obviously do believe that people aren't just going to give up this immediately, so people are still killing, but the numbers are significantly decreasing.


         I don't understand completely the appeal of eating a shark's tasteless fin. If it doesn't have a taste why would you want to add it to your soup? Also how would anyone think of just adding the fin of a shark to soup? Did someone just one day decide, lets add shark's fin to soup? I guess I see why you'd want to try something new, but the small part of the shark you cut off for soup, is most likely going to kill the shark just because you want to taste nothing. I get how people would eat chicken, because it has a taste, but why continually kill an animal if it doesn't have a taste. In conclusion, I'm glad China and other countries finally stopped for the most part and many sharks will live out their lives, fin and all.


        Although the article only focuses on the Chinese, all over the world people are doing the same thing. Even in the United States and even Boston. This delicacy is over $100 a bowl here and may be using endangered species. This problem is still around the world today, but its scarce and the soup itself is expensive, so many people don't usually go for it. I feel it should be completely illegal because of the affect it has on the marine ecosystem and the fact it really has to taste to us.