Shark
Fin Soup: The Demise of Sharks and Destruction of Oceans
Shark fin soup is viewed as a delicacy that dates back to
China’s Ming Dynasty as
remains a symbol of wealth, pride, and prestige
even today day. Commonly used as a wedding dish, a bowl of shark fin soup can
sell for upwards of $100 a bowl. Dishes
containing shark fin are also sold in many restaurants and hotels, and one “catty,” 21 ounces
of shark fin, can sell in markets for $260. With such outrageous prices, people
might think the impact of shark fin consumption is minimal, reserved for the
small population of the wealthy and privileged. However, with China’s economic boom,
people are making more money than ever, creating a middle class that loves to
indulge in this upper-class delight to show that they can make it in the
economic jungle too. The funny is that shark fin doesn’t even have a flavor.
The cartilage is just a chewy thing to stick in a soup and call a delicacy; a
chewy thing that causes the deaths of 100 million sharks per year
and just might cause the collapse of marine ecosystems worldwide.
Sharks are apex predators essential for keeping other
species populations from overwhelming the environment. Due to the extreme
overfishing for fins, between 6.4% and 7.9% of
shark populations are killed each year, exceeding the 4.9% cut off that ensure
a stable population. These devastating statistics have been around for a while,
and that is why a team of researchers from
the Australian Institute of Marine Science investigated shark
populations for 10 years in reef systems of the north-west coast of Australia,
an area frequently visited by shark finners. They found that the constant
removal of sharks reduced the population enough to send the whole system into disarray.
Sharks feed heavily on snappers in this area, which feed on herbivorous fish,
which eat algae that grow on coral, keeping the reef healthy. When there are
not enough sharks, the snapper population skyrockets. This decimates the
herbivorous fish populations, meaning that nothing is there to remove the algae
from the reef. Algae grow after damaging events like cyclones or bleaching,
and for the reef to grow back, the algae need to be removed. When there are no
fish to graze on the algae, the reef can’t bounce back, a real concern in a
world where climate change will cause more cyclones and bleaching
than ever. This applies to reefs around the world, including the Great Barrier
Reef, a famous area that is one-third protective green
zone. Without the sharks, the whole system goes haywire. Doesn’t
seem worth it for a few bites of gelatinous chunks, and I haven’t even
mentioned the brutal way the fins are harvested yet.
It would be nice to think that finners have enough respect
to at least use the entire animal, but the sad fact is that sharks are
captured, their fins are sliced off, and they are dumped, alive, back
into the ocean to bleed to death, starve, or be eaten by predators.
Photo by Tre’ Packard of PangeaSeed.org
The boats used for finning are not that large, and it is more
valuable to only keep the fins, conserving space by casting aside the rest of
the animal. This video
from the Philippines shows the brutal fate these creatures have to endure;
the shark washed up on the shore, still alive but with fins removed, destined
for a defenseless and agonizing death. At least this shark served as a martyr,
bringing the issue of finning to public attention and encouraging a change.
In 2014, the Convention on international Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES) met in Thailand to discuss the
treatment of sharks and rays. The unregulated trade of sharks has been
fought since the 90’s, and this meeting finally got enough votes to create a
ban. Although it doesn’t protect all shark species, porbeagles, oceanic
whitetips, and 3 species of hammerhead were raised to Appendix
II of the CITES code, meaning permits and certificates are needed for
trade. There are challenges to enforcing
the ban such as determining sustainability levels, verifying permits, and
identifying which species are in markets, but CITES is determined to keep this
essential achievement in place. Due to awareness campaigns, the sales of shark
fins have already decreased by 70%, and the
Hilton Worldwide hotel chain stopped serving shark fin at its 96 properties in
Asia and the Pacific. Unfortunately, some countries entered reservations to
CITES regulations. Denmark (for
Greenland), Canada, Guyana, Japan, Iceland, and Yemen have refused to abide
by the ban and will continue to hunt the protected species. On the bright side,
China, the main consumer of shark fin agreed to follow the protocol, which
means things could be looking up for sharks and the oceans. Hopefully the other countries will come
around in the near future. After all, who could resist this goofy little face?
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