Dying for Soup
Read Time:4 Minute, 7 Second
Sharks are beautiful, mysterious creatures. From megaladon to the great white to tiger sharks, basking and leopards, sharks are amazing to watch, study and admire and revere. There is a culture, however, that sees sharks not as magnificent perfection, but as objects to maim and kill.
Sharks do not have the swim bladders most fish use to adjust their buoyancy, and must swim constantly in order to stay afloat. Sharks also use a different type of ventilation system to breathe called a ram jet ventilation system. This means in order to pump water through their gills and receive oxygen, sharks must swim to force the water through their gills. And in order to swim, sharks need their fins.
There is a soup which can cost up to $100 a bowl. It is Chinese shark fin soup. Shark fin soup is served to guests at important events and celebrations, like a wedding or a business meeting. It is typically flavored with chicken stock and the shark fin serves to add texture only, not taste. Shark fin soup is part of what are known as “The Big Four”; dishes that symbolize, among other things, prosperity, and if shark fin soup is not served at a Chinese wedding, rumor has it the bride is not marrying well.
According to Oceana, almost 75 million sharks are killed each year for shark fin soup. But the sharks are not killed in any way that can be called humane. A shark is hooked, brought into the boat, the fins are removed and the shark is thrown back into the ocean to slowly and painfully drown. 75 million sharks are killed this way each year so the wealthy can tell their friends they ate shark fin soup, and so a bride doesn’t have to feel she’ll be poor forever.
As the wealth in Asia increases, there is more and more demand for the “finer things”, one of which is shark fin soup. As a result, some shark species are bordering on extinction. Oceana estimates that Hong Kong alone imports 10 million kilos (11,000 TONS) of shark fin from as many as 87 countries. Fins cost as much as $1,300 apiece. Shark finning is a very lucrative enterprise.
Shark are especially vulnerable to exploitation because they are slow to mature and live long lives. The fact that shark fin soup is part of Chinese history doesn’t help. It has been served to Chinese and Japanese aristocracy since the time of the Ming dynasty, gaining in popularity in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as living conditions improved. In other words, the more money people had, the more the demand for shark fin soup.
There are those who claim sharks are not maimed while they are alive, but that the fins are “harvested” after the shark is dead. In fact, Giam Choo Hoo, one of the longest serving members of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) has made this assertion for quite some time. As someone active in environmental issues, especially those regarding sharks, and a voracious supporter of Greenpeace and the Cousteau Society, I can tell Mr. Hoo is wrong. I’ve seen the videos, I’ve watched men lop off shark fins and toss live sharks back into the ocean to drown. And these were not lost tuna fisherman who happened upon a shark and thought “Ooo! I can sell this fin!” These were shark fisherman who had fins all over their boat.
Very few people care about shark finning, but I wonder if I told you that cute little lynx kittens were having their paws cut off for soup, would you care then? Sharks are not most people’s idea of beauty. They’re not fluffy, they don’t purr or chirp or play fetch. Sharks are prehistoric creatures whose beauty is subtle and awe inspiring. But more than that, sharks are important to humanity. We never seem to grasp that everything is connected, and the more we slaughter the creatures of the Earth, the closer we come to our own destruction.
We are all part of the same planet, the same patterns, the same ebb and flow. Yet we refuse to see it. Last year, the Western Black Rhino was declared extinct. Gone. My son will never see this magnificent creature save for a photograph or video. There are more than 1,000 endangered species worldwide, with 496 of those right here in America. Polar bears, bonobos, African elephants, leopards, tigers, gorillas, the Eurasian and Iberian Lynx, spectacled bears. All endangered, and the lynxes and spectacled bear are on the World Wildlife Fund’s list of “priority species.”
We have been here for a second in the grand scheme, but look at the havoc humans have wreaked in such a short period of time.
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I have long been an opponent of shark finning, as well as whale hunting, wolf hunting, polar bear hunting, and etc. Unfortunately there are few regulations that govern this terrible, destructive practice. The Japanese and Chinese seem to revel in killing the world’s creatures to enrich their “ancient” and “barbaric” culture.
Shark fining is something that has made me angry and ill for quite a long time. The only argument for its continued practice is greed and ‘tradition’. Neither of which are good excuses for the wanton destruction that it causes.
Avi is right, this was quite well written Erin, thank you.
I find Giam Choo Hoo’s claims to be especially disturbing as his actions have consistently hindered the further protection of various species, including many sharks. I sometimes wonder if he is getting paid on the side to prevent CITES from doing its job, or if he is just an ineffectual bureaucrat.
A wonderful article by Erin Nanansi. Well written, articulate, passionate and inspiring! Thank you Erin for giving sharks a much need voice! :))