The environmental destruction caused by shark fin soup is not limited to the main culinary regions of Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China. The devastation of the oceans is not regionally confined; sustenance fishing in poor communities offered large sums is a worldwide problem fueled by Chinese demand.
Shark fin soup, a Chinese style soup made with the fin of a shark and flavoured with chicken and other stock, I have no idea of the taste as I have never and will never will eat a plate of shark fin soup. The fin itself, I am informed, ironically has minimal flavour; is used as a primary ingredient to add texture to the dish - as such, it is seen as a delicacy.
A plate of shark fin soup is not cheap; this ensures a steady supply of fins at high prices for fishermen, wholesalers and merchants wantonly slaughtering sharks in large and unsustainable numbers to satisfy the market demand. With rapidly increasing prosperity and the growth of a middle class in the South East Asia; shark fin soup is now consumed in vast quantities placing crippling and unsustainable pressure on shark populations.
Claimed to possess health benefits; kidneys, lungs, bones and appetite, however, there is absolutely no evidence to support such claims. Taking 7 to 20 years to reach maturity; shark populations take extended time frames to recover. Current demand for fins makes it impossible for populations to recover to previous levels. Sharks are apex predators – when populations are placed under such severe fishing pressure - the entire eco-system suffers.
I ran dive tours within Western Australia, shark fin soup is not illegal here but we as consumers have choices. While I personally would never purchase a plate of shark fin soup, our clients on tour would request this from the menu. Education is the key, we had a policy of never purchasing shark fin soup for our clients, we would then follow up with the reasons why this policy is enacted and not one client ever argued once suitably informed.
I feel it is our duty as scuba divers and eco-tourists to provide reasoned arguments why consumers should boycott shark fin soup. Once the demand has been negated, the supply chain no longer has a market seeking big profits.
Analysts say about 10 percent of the global shark fin trade is freighted through air, but the trend of eliminating shark products from cargo appears to be growing in the very region where it's seen as the biggest problem: Asia-Pacific. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific changed its policy in September to only accept independently verified sustainable shark and shark-related products, and now a host of other major players have followed suit.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ibtimes.com/air-new-zealand-air-pacific-korean-air-other-asian-airlines-join-ban-shark-fin-cargo-1323157
“Obviously we’re delighted that Philippine Airlines has seen fit to turn its back on the dirty shark fin trade by joining a growing family of airlines that take their corporate social responsibilities seriously,” he said.
ReplyDeletehttp://business.inquirer.net/168917/philippine-airlines-to-stop-shipment-of-shark-fins#ixzz2zorki5H4