Written by Katia Ramadori, Four Green Steps

Consuming shark fin in shark fin soup is a delicacy in China for those privileged and wealthy enough to afford it. With China’s strong economy, the demand for shark fin soup has increased dramatically in recent years. The increase coincides with the dramatic decrease in the shark population.

The sale of shark fin is a multi-million dollar industry, selling for $300 or more for a pound of dried shark fin. Shark finning is a global issue and is largely unmanaged and unmonitored. Specialists estimate that 100 million sharks are killed for their fins each year and if this continues sharks could go extinct in just ten years.

Shark finning, the act of cutting off the fins of a shark, is a cruel and wasteful practice. The shark is de-finned while still alive and then thrown back into the ocean, with no chance of survival. Any shark, regardless of age, size, or species can fall victim to this brutal act, which is appalling considering 30% of shark population are already threatened to be endangered. Since the 1950s, the oceanic whitetip population has decreased 85% in the northwest and central Atlantic. In the past 25 years, certain hammerhead sharks have declined 83% in the northwest Atlantic and up to 70% in the eastern Pacific and southwest Indian Ocean. Together, 126 of an estimated 460 shark species are threatened with extinction.

The rest of the shark meat is considered of low value. Therefore fishers do not want it to take up space in their vessels so they dumb the rest of the body back into the ocean to drown or be eaten by other fish.  To make things worse, the shark fin does not add any taste to the shark fin soup, it just gives the soup texture. Chicken or pork broths are used to flavor the fin. The soup is often consumed at weddings or corporate celebrations to show the host’s good fortune.

Finning is an unsustainable fishing practice. The abundant amount of sharks harvested depletes the shark population faster than their reproductive abilities can restore them. The decrease in shark population also affects the health of the ocean ecosystems. As a top predator, sharks stabilize other fish populations. The only way to save sharks from extinction and protect the future health of our seas is to support initiatives that drive governmental policy change.

Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

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