It is the ability of cooked Shark Fin cartilage to absorb the flavors of other ingredients that makes it so coveted. You know what? Tofu (soy bean curd) does the same thing. Shark Fin Soup typically is flavored with chicken broth, pork and other ingredients. Nothing fancy.

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 There is no healthful or essential epicurean benefit to be derived from eating Shark Fin Soup other than the prestige of stroking one’s own sense of self-importance in public eateries. It is merely a visible and outward sign of wealth, prosperity and power to dine upon this so-called delicacy which incidentally, has no flavor of its own. Shielded from the consumer who knows nothing of how it is harvested, it reeks a foul stench of bloody death and wanton environmental disregard. Anyone that wants some rarefied and esoteric gastric experience to stroke their sense of self-importance should stick to something not so destructive to the planet, something like bird’s nest soup. That is another traditional oriental soup and by the way, it is considered to be the most expensive animal product in the world. It is just seaweed and bird saliva, chiseled from the side of a cliff.

We’re allowing millions of sharks to be killed each year for just a few pounds each of fin, and wasting the rest! We’re killing the oceans by decimating this top-level predator. I won’t go into some feigned bunny-hugger diatribe of ‘leave the pretty sharks alone, live & let live,’ and ‘have you hugged a shark today’ speech, for I eat meat. I love seafood too. I know some cultures and persons use personal choice in favor of a vegetarian or even stricter vegan existence. That’s fine with me. I am against the eating of over-hunted, endangered species and vehemently against it in those cases where the prey is slaughtered in the deplorable manner such as this. This is admonishable with its unregulated and wasteful tendencies. Maybe if the harvests were regulated and the product was used responsibly and wholly, I might consent that it is, maybe, okay. I have had shark steaks before recall enjoying it. I was assuming that the entire shark was used for food. Shark Fin Soup does not meet even that requirement. In fact, quite the opposite!

Shark Fin Soup, A Ming Dynasty Tradition

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Shark’s Fin Soup is a popular item served at Chinese banquets, weddings and is a luxury item. Serving it symbolizes prestige and affluence. The fin of the shark is a cartilaginous material, and it is only the pectoral and dorsal fins used for this soup product. The rest of the shark although edible if soaked in salt water to remove the high urine content, is deemed to be of a quality not worth taking up space in the cargo hold and is discarded back into the sea. Here is the waste. This is food, wasted. If this were to be used, the need or desire of the most coveted parts might be reduced meaning fewer sharks need be taken. There can be a balance. There could be a cullable number of sharks that can be safely and responsibly taken and still maintain healthy oceans.

More Shark Fin Soup

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Eww! WTF is this nasty-looking putrid stuff? Looks like Won-Hung-Lo or Cream of Sum-Yung Guy. Take it away! -Yuck! That is Shark Fin Soup and this is the quintessential subject of this rant. Don’t eat this stuff! Don’t buy this stuff. Avoid Shark Fin Soup. Protest its sale wherever you see it. Anyone that uses or consumes this product is supporting the extinction of the shark specie worldwide and that makes them part of the problem. Your silence is part of the problem. Speak up, just say NO to Shark Fin Soup! We will all share in the tragedy if these top-level predators of the world’s oceans become extinct.

Shark Fins on Display

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Shark Fins for sale, for making soup. It is just cartilage. That is all that the shark fin is. There is nothing powerful or magical here. You do not reap the prowess of the shark by eating its fin, penis or any other part of this or any other animal. Accept that and stop this abuse.

Conservationist’s Warning

A large part of the trade in shark fin come from a process called “finning,” -the cutting off of the fins of living sharks which are often still alive and they are cast back into the sea to either suffocate due to inability to move or swim, or be ravaged by other sharks that sense the blood. Millions of sharks each years die to satiate the growing appetite for Shark Fin Soup. Chinese New Year marks the highest demand for it. This appalling practice must stop.

What if the Sharks Disappeared?

Shark attacks on humans number about 100 worldwide annually, resulting in about 10 human deaths. We humans kill a staggering number of sharks annually mostly for their fins. The World Conservation Union states the number of sharks killed range from the 38-million to as high as 70-million+ sharks each year are taken for their prized fins. Sharks have FAR more to fear from us than we from them. And what if sharks disappeared from the world’s oceans entirely? Some sharks eat rays and skates, a form of bottom-dweller that eats clams and scallops. If the number of sharks decline, the alpha-predator of oceans, -the number of skates and rays would probably increase meaning more clams and scallops are being consumed. Think about that. Clam chowder may be the next endangered item on the menu.

Sharks are the cleaning stewards of the oceans; this top-level predator helps to keep the sea ecosystem in check. The clean-up dead and injured creatures. Predators are required.

Already, we are seeing increasing numbers of rays and skates which are, as stated. shellfish eaters. Their abnormal increase of numbers means that more clams and other shellfish are going to be consumed by their rising numbers. Clam harvests are starting to show decline. If we lose the sharks of the world’s oceans we will lose clams, scallops and other common marine shellfish too. We need sharks in the ocean to keep the balance.

Health Benefits from Shark Fin Soup?

No, not really, From the web site sharkfinsoup.ca comes this quote:

“….After many years of scientific study what has actually been discovered is scientists have found the sharks are contaminated with mercury, lead, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other highly toxic poisons.

As well many people have said sharks don’t get cancer, well yes they do. Scientists again have proven that sharks do get cancer and get many malignant tumors and cancerous lesions….”

Shark fins may have once been ‘pure’ or safe to eat but their contamination should not be the only reason to stop eating this product. It is the cruel, ruthless and inhumane the way that we acquire the shark product in question. With the recent rise in general Chinese wealth, there has been a rapid increase in the desire for this once rarefied delicacy. The worldwide shark population is stated to have been reduced by some 90% due to irresponsible over-harvesting for human needs and wants, namely, finning practices have had the greatest impact.

Here in Canada, the Humane Society International has been targeting diners and restaurants here in the city of Toronto, informing them of the dangers decreasing sharp populations and of the cruelties in procuring the Shark Fins for the coveted Soup. They sought and continue to seek raised awareness by handing out brochures at this year’s Chinese New Year Parade. Probably most people are unaware that shark populations are rapidly declining and what this means for the health of the world’s oceans. The fact that the product is still available and on menus of high-end restaurants makes matters worse. For if it is available, the assumption seems to be that it is okay.

It was just reported that the food distributor Loblaw’s and Great Canadian Superstores have acquiesced to pressure from awareness groups and have stopped selling shark fin soup in its store. Let’s applaud this decision and if you shop there, mention your support of these boycott actions. -Shark Fin Soup? –Say, NO MORE!