Shark fin soup

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Shark fin soup

A dried shark fin prepared for cooking

Shark fins and other shark parts for sale in a chinese pharmacy

Shark fin soup (Chinese: 魚翅; Jyutping: jyu4 ci3, Mandarin: (Pinyin) Yú Chì / (Wade-Giles) Yü Ch'ih⁴ ) is a dish commonly served in Chinese restaurants as part of a Chinese feast, usually at special occasions such as weddings and banquets as a symbol of wealth and prestige.

1 Shark fin
2 Pseudo-shark fin
3 Controversy
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Shark fin

Genuine shark fin soup or stew is made with shark fins obtained from any of a variety of shark species. Raw shark fins are processed by first removing the skin, trimming them to shape, and thoroughly drying them. They may be bleached with hydrogen peroxide before drying to make the colour of the shark fins more appealing. Shark fins are the cartilaginous pectoral and dorsal fins of a shark. A third of all fins imported to Hong Kong come from Europe.[1]

[edit] Pseudo-shark fin

There is an imitation version that are usually sold in cans that may simply be labeled as shark-fin soup, it sells for around US$1.50 per bowl. It does not contain shark fins, but is instead made of mung bean vermicelli shaped to resemble shark fins, though they are not equivalent to genuine shark fin in either texture nor color. It is commonly served in chicken broth, with culinary fungus and pork to enhance the texture and taste.

[edit] Controversy

According to wildlife conservationists, much of the trade in sharks' fins is derived from fins cut from living sharks; this process is called finning. Because shark meat is worth very little, the finless and often still-living sharks are thrown back into the sea to make room on board ship for more of the valuable fins. When returned to the ocean, the finless sharks, unable to move, die from suffocation or are eaten by other sharks or other animals.

However, according to Giam Choo Hoo, "the perception that it is common practice to kill sharks for only their fins - and to cut them off whilst the sharks are still alive - is wrong.... the vast majority of fins in the market are taken from sharks after their death."

Finning is vigorously opposed by animal welfare groups; both on moral grounds and also because it is listed as one of the causes for the rapid decline of global shark populations, in some cases by 99% over the last 50 years, leading conservation ecologists and fishery experts to predict widespread shark extinction in 10 or 20 years. On IUCN red list there are 39 species of elasmobranches listed as threatened species,[2] and over 25% of all Chondrichthyes species are listed as threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable). Sharks are often taken as bycatch by fisheries, and for some species it this, rather than finning, that is cited for the decline in numbers.

It is estimated that between 10–100 million sharks are slaughtered each year for their fins, [3] and the industry is valued at US$1.2 billion; because of the lucrative profits, there are allegations of links to organized crime.[4][5] The meat of dogfishes, smoothhounds, catsharks, skates and rays is in high demand by European consumers. The situation in Canada and the United States is similar: the blue shark is sought as a sport fish while the porbeagle, mako and spiny dogfish are part of the commercial fishery. Sharks continue to be caught and killed by the more organised and sophisticated fishing nations, so targetting shark's fin soup is likely to have a limited effect on population recovery. Sharks are caught in all over the world - in many places laws are in place or in process to make shark finning illegal, but fishing for sharks not on the endangered list is legal in most places.

Hong Kong Disneyland dropped the dish from its menu and The University of Hong Kong has promised never to serve shark fin at official functions.

New laws have been passed to prevent finning; though much of the international waters continue to be unregulated. The United States recently issued a ban on finning, applicable only to U.S.-registered vessels, even in U.S. territorial waters; and shark fins cannot be imported into the USA without entire carcasses. International fishing authorities are in the process of banning shark fishing (and finning) in the Atlantic ocean and Mediterranean Sea. However shark fishing and finning continues unabated in the Pacific and Indian ocean.

Large-scale removal of sharks may severely unbalance the ecosystem of warm seas by allowing some species of large or middle-sized fish to multiply or grow bigger: for an example see grouper.

NBA star Yao Ming pledged to stop eating shark fin soup at a news conference on August 2, 2006. Yao's comments drew a reproach from seafood industry associations. [6]. Australian naturalist Steve Irwin was known to walk out of Chinese restaurants if he saw shark fin soup on the menu.^[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Baum J.K., Myers R.A., Kehler D.G., Worm B., Harley S.J., Doherty P.A. (2003) — Collapse and Conservation of Shark Populations in the Northwest Atlantic. Science, 5605: 389–392.
Giam Choo Hoo, "Shark's fin soup - eat without guilt", The Straits Times, 1 December 2006.