Shark Fin Soup: Please Say No

Please take a minute to view the following video that describes the incredibly cruel practice of pulling sharks onto a boat, cutting off their fins for the Asian soup market, and throwing these finless sharks back into the water to die. A warning: this video contains actual footage of a shark having a fin cut off in gruesome fashion - I don't believe it's appropriate for children to view.

Click the play button to begin video.

I have a great deal of respect for Yao Ming, an NBA superstar with the Houston Rockets who has worked together with WildAid.org to increase public awareness of this horrific practice.

Why do people do this? For money, of course.

Various Asian populations, particularly the Chinese, consider shark fin soup to be a delicacy and symbol of high class. In Hong Kong, one kilogram of genuine shark fin sells for $700.00 USD, making it the most expensive variety of seafood that we know of.

In the past, shark fin soup was only served at extremely special and rare banquets. Today, as China and other east Asian countries continue to gain economic strength, many middle class families now expect to see shark fin soup on the menu at weddings and company dinners. This has led to a huge demand for shark fins on the international market.

Why are sharks often thrown back into the water to die as they float helplessly to the bottom of the ocean? Because shark meat is considered to be inferior in quality compared to fish like tuna and swordfish. For many boat owners, there is no net profit for storing entire sharks on their boats. Shark fins, on the other hand, take up very little space and can be dried and stored for long periods of time.

Although some countries like the United States, Australia, and Ecuador have banned shark finning, this practice continues at a rapid pace in and around east Asian countries. It has been estimated that 100 million sharks are killed for their fins each year. The busiest shark fin trading centers are located in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Until a global ban is achieved, the best that any of us can do prevent this practice is to tell our families and friends about the shark finning industry. As the WildAid.org campaign to end shark finning tells us, "when the buying stops, the killing can, too."

To help increase public awareness of shark finning, please consider digging this page by clicking here.