What is Shark Finning?

What is Shark Finning?

Shark finning is a widespread practice which has been steadily increasing over the last decade, and has become one of the most serious threats to shark populations worldwide. The practice involves the violent removal of a sharks fins, and subsequent disposal of their body into the ocean, causing the sharks to die of suffocation (from the lack of fresh oxygenated air passing through their gills) or predation as they are unable to move.

The Problem

It is estimated that 26-73 million sharks are harvested for their fins each year to meet the rising demand for shark fin soup and use of shark fins in traditional cures in China. Shark populations are suffering extensively, and although many regulations are in place, the extremely high value of shark fins still create incentive for fisherman to hunt these animals. The most critically endangered populations of sharks, like the sawfish, is highly favored in Asian markets and more valuable. There is no doubt if this practice still continues it will cause the extinction of the sawfish and many other species of sharks. Another huge problem in this practice, aside from the death of these animals, is that there is a great deal of waste occuring as only 5% of the shark is used and the other 95% is just thrown away as the shark meat is worth much less than the fins

The Tyee – Why We Shouldn’t Ban Shark Fin (but should Boycott it instead)

The Tyee – Why We Shouldn’t Ban Shark Fin (but should Boycott it instead)

This article comes from BC Newspaper and outlines why New Westminster-Coquitlam MP Fin Donnelly’s new bill to ban the import of shark fin into Canada is not an efficient and cost-effective method to reduce the occurrence of shark finning. The author, Anna Ling Kaye, suggests that it is difficult and expensive to enforce a ban, and making shark fin illegal will only cause the prices to keep increasing. Instead she points out the successes of “Shark Truth”, Canadian non-profit organization, which is leading the fight against the use of shark fins. She states that widespread social change is necessary to change the way we eat, and only with increased awareness of the public through campaigns and insistence of restaurants to take shark-fin soup off the menu can we reduce and hopefully eliminate instance of shark-finning.