Shark finning

In some Far East cultures, shark fin soup plays a similar role to champagne -- a traditional means of honouring special guests and a testament of wealth and epicurean taste. Yet the Chinese may have to consider their fondness for the soup in light of rapidly dwindling shark populations.

More than 100 million sharks and shark-like fish are slaughtered annually for their fins -- and their fins alone -- and it is unsustainable. Over the last 15 years, shark populations have fallen by up to 80% and several species face extinction. Many of the sharks are caught indiscriminately on long lines that may extend several kilometres behind the fishing boat. The fins of the live shark are then hacked off before the carcass is dumped on high seas.  

Shark meat has never been part of the traditional human diet, so sharks were not targeted for commercial scale fishing in the past. The shark fin trade was limited by the low average wealth of people in shark fin consuming cultures and to a lesser extent a limited technological ability to catch sharks. Yet the emergence of a middle class in China -- and its corollary bon viveurs -- and highly efficient fishing methods has made sharks hugely important as a commercial species. The retail price of a single large whale shark pectoral fin has increased 50% over the last year in China and can now retail for up to $15,000.

The cruelty of finning is not the only reason articulated by environmentalists for opposing the practice:

• The fins represent less than 5% of a shark's body weight and discarded carcasses could provide a valuable additional food source in many developing countries.
• Removing very large numbers of sharks from the ocean is likely to have a deleterious effect on marine ecosystems.
• Sharks grow slowly, mature late and give birth to a few pups after a long gestation period, so recovery of population numbers will be extremely slow.

There is no effective international law governing fishing in international waters, although the practice violates the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Each country with a coastline is responsible for laws and regulations relating to fishing in its waters, but only a few have shark-finning legislation. Many stipulate that fins must arrive in a 5% weight ratio of the shark carcasses onboard. Only a few countries demand that sharks arrive in port with fins attached.

A recent report produced by the European Elasmobranch Association (the European Union is the world's largest exporter of shark fins to China, the biggest consumer market) says that a fin-to-carcass weight ratio rule is complicated and inadequate, and recommends landing sharks with their fins still attached as the best method for preventing finning. The report also highlights that the regulation is further weakened by the ability for vessels to land shark fins and bodies separately in different ports.