| Shark fin soup | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Shark fin soup | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 魚翅 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 鱼翅 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Jyutping | jyu4 ci3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | yú chì | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Fish fin | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Shark fin soup (or shark's fin soup) is a popular soup item of Chinese cuisine usually served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets,[1][2] or as a luxury item in Chinese culture.[2] The shark fins provide texture while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients.[1]
There is controversy over the practice of shark finning. Consumption of shark fin soup has risen dramatically with the middle class becoming more affluent, as Chinese communities around the world enjoy increasing income levels.[1][3][4] Environmental groups claim that finning has caused decline of shark species, which, as top predators in the ocean, are essential to the stability of oceanic ecosystems.[5][6] Fishing fleets catch an estimated 70 million sharks a year as of 2010.[7]
However, research has shown that the vast majority of shark species are gaining in population and not endangered; CITES lists only 3 out of 400 species as needing protection.[8] Furthermore, shark finning contributes to a small proportion of sharks caught worldwide; most sharks are caught in European nations as bycatch, for sport, or for their meat. As a result, the movement against shark fins have been variously described as misled, reliant on populist rhetoric, or Sinophobic. [9]
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Shark fin soup dates back to China's Ming Dynasty.[3] The popularity of shark fin soup rose in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as standards of living began to improve.[1] The delicacy was coveted by emperors because it was rare, delicious, and required elaborate preparation.[10] Holding both culinary and symbolic significance, the dish is popular at important occasions such as weddings, banquets, and important business deals.[10][11][12] It symbolizes wealth, power, prestige and honor.[11][12] This staple of gourmet Chinese cuisine is a show of respect, honor, and appreciation to the guests.[10][13]
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. Hydrogen peroxide may be used[14] before drying to make their colour more appealing.
Shark fins are the cartilaginous pectoral and dorsal fins of a shark. Sharks' fins are sold in two forms: frozen and dried. Both need to be softened before they can be used to prepare soup. The frozen form is ready to use, as it has been prepared and therefore only requires about an hour or two of soaking.
There are two types of the dried form, skinned (shredded) and whole, which requires more preparation.[15]
In shark fin soup, the fins themselves are virtually tasteless. The taste comes from the soup, while the fins are valued for their texture. Keith Bradsher of The New York Times describes it as a "chewy, sinewy, stringy" texture.[1] Krista Mahr of TIME called it "somewhere between chewy and crunchy."[7] Dave Lieberman of OC Weekly wrote that it is a "snappy, gelatinous texture." Westerners reaction to eating shark fin soup for the first time is that it has almost no taste. However, texture is prized as much as taste in Asian cuisine.[16]
Chinese culture has lauded shark fins' alleged properties to boost sexual potency, enhance skin quality, increase one's qi or energy, prevent heart disease, and lower cholesterol.[13]
Vitamin content of typical shark fin soup is much less than that of typical vegetable soup, containing almost no vitamin A. However, it contains slightly more iron, zinc, riboflavin, and phosphorus than normal vegetable soup.[17] [18]
There are apparently false claims that shark fins prevent cancer.[19][20] No scientific proof supports these claims; at least one study has shown shark cartilage to be of no value in cancer treatment.[21]
If consumed in extremely large quantities, shark fin soup may cause sterility in men due to mercury content.[22] The FDA recommends pregnant women and young children avoid eating shark fins.[23]
Shark fin soup is a popular delicacy in China, and is eaten in Chinese restaurants around the world.[24][25] Peter Knights, executive director of WildAid, said in 2001 that the shark fin trade more than doubled in the prior 15 years.[3]
A survey carried out in China in 2006 by WildAid and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association found that 35% of participants said they had consumed shark fin soup in the last year,[24] while 83% of participants in an online survey conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature, said that they had consumed shark fin soup at some time.[26]
In Hong Kong restaurants, where the market has traditionally been strong, demand from Hong Kong natives has reportedly dropped, but this has been more than balanced by an increase in demand from the Chinese mainland,[27] as the economic growth of China has put this expensive delicacy within the reach of a growing middle class.[28]
Based on information gathered from the Hong Kong trade in fins, the market is estimated to be growing by 5% a year.[29] The high price of the soup means it is often used as a way to impress guests or at celebrations,[27] Fifty-eight percent of those questioned in the WWF survey said they ate the soup at a celebration or gathering.[26]
According the Food and Agriculture Organization, the preferred shark and shark-like ray species for fins are tiger, mako, sawfish, sandbar, bull, hammerhead, blacktip, porbeagle, blue and thresher sharks."[30]
Fins from the critically endangered sawfish (Pristidae) "are highly favored in Asian markets and are some of the most valuable shark fins."[31] Sawfishes are now protected under the highest protection level of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Appendix I,[32] but given the great volume of the shark fin trade, and as detached shark fins are difficult to identify, it is unlikely that CITES protection will prevent highly valued sawfish fins from entering the trade.
A third of all fins imported to Hong Kong come from Europe.[33] Spain is by far the largest supplier, providing between 2,000 and 5,000 metric tons a year.[34][35] Norway supplies 39 metric tonnes, but Britain, France, Portugal and Italy are also major suppliers.[36]
Hong Kong handles at least 50% and possibly up to 80% of the world trade in shark fin, with the major suppliers being Europe, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United States, Yemen, India, Japan, and Mexico.[37]
Some researchers believed that from 1996 to 2000, 26 to 73 million sharks were traded yearly. The annual median for the period was 38 million, nearly four times more than the UN estimates, but considerably lower than those of many conservationists.[5] The total was 70 million in 2010.[7] Shark fins are a billion dollar industry.[38]
Major declines in shark populations have been recorded in recent years—some species have been depleted by over 90% over the past 20–30 years, with a population decline of 70% not being unusual.[39] However, out of the nearly 400 species of sharks, only 3 are classified as requiring protection by CITES. The population of most species are on the rise since 2001, following improved industry standards. [40]
It is popularly believed and widely reported that only a small amount of the shark is actually kept, and that during [Shark finning|finning]], the fins are cut from living sharks.[41] After the fins have been cut off, the remainder of the fish, which is often still alive, is thrown back into the sea.[41] However, Giam Choo Hoo, the longest-serving member of CITES, reports that such claims are misleading. "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." Indeed, the widely reported practice of cutting off fins from living sharks and throwing back into the sea only occurs in longline fishing vessels that are targeting other types of fish, such as tuna and swordfish. [42]