Shark finning

Shark finning
1
Shark finning
Shark finning refers to the removal and retention of
shark fins and the discarding at sea of the carcass.
Shark finning takes place at sea so the fishers only have
to transport the fins.
Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged
and unmonitored. Shark finning has increased over the
past decade largely due to the increasing demand for
shark fins for Chinese shark fin soup and traditional
cures, improved fishing technology, and improved
market economics. Shark specialists estimate that
anywhere between 38 million-100 million sharks are
killed for their fins, annually.[1] Shark fins are a billion
dollar industry.[2]
Process
According to wildlife conservation much of the sharks'
fin trade uses fins cut from living sharks, called
finning.[3] Because shark meat is worth much less, the
now finless and often still-living sharks are thrown
back into the sea to make room for more of the
valuable fins.[3] In the ocean, the sharks either die from
suffocation or are eaten because they are unable to
move normally.
NOAA agent counting confiscated shark fins
Impact and reporting
According to Giam Choo Hoo, the longest serving member of The
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora Animals Committee, "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."[4] However, some
researchers dispute this claim after extensive examination of fin
sourcing and fisheries data; one study of sharks harvested for their
valuable fins estimates that between 26-73 million sharks are killed
each year worldwide,[5] which is almost three times higher than official
Food and Agriculture Organization estimates.[6]
Chart showing shark fishing on the rise, from
1950 to 2004
The crew of the conservation vessel Ocean Warrior witnessed and photographed industrial-scale finning within
Costa Rica's Cocos Island National Park protected marine area.[7] The practice is featured in the documentary
Sharks: Stewards of the Reef, which contains footage from Western Australia and Central America and also
examines shark finning's cultural, financial and ecological impacts. Underwater photographer Richard Merritt also
has witnessed finning of living sharks in Indonesia where he saw immobile finless sharks lying on the sea bed still
alive below the fishing boat.[8] Finning has been witnessed and filmed within a protected marine area in the Raja
Shark finning
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Ampat islands of Indonesia.[9]
Animal welfare groups vigorously oppose finning on
moral grounds and also because it is one cause for the
rapid decline of global shark populations.[3] On the
IUCN red list there are 39 species of elasmobranches
(sharks and rays) listed as threatened species (Critically
Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable).[10] CITES
lists three sharks in Appendix II: the basking shark, the
great white shark, and the whale shark. Appendix II
lists those species that are not in danger of extinction,
but which require controls on international trade to
maintain their populations. It is estimated that 10–100
million sharks are slaughtered each year for their fins
Dorsal fin of a shark
with a median figure of 38 million.[1] The industry is
valued at US$1.2 billion; because of the lucrative profits, there are allegations of links to organized crime.[2] [11]
They also raise questions on the medical harm from the consumption of high levels of toxic mercury reportedly
found in shark fins.
Numbers of some shark species have dropped as much as 80% over the
last 50 years.[12] Some organizations claim that shark fishing or
bycatch (the unintentional capture of species by other fisheries) is the
reason for the decline in some species' populations and that the market
for fins has very little impact – bycatch accounts for an estimated 50%
of all sharks taken[3] – others that the market for shark fin soup is the
main reason for the decline.[12] Tommy Cheung, the legislator
representing Hong Kong's catering sector, said: "I don't believe sharks
are an endangered species. Some species of shark may be, but not all
shark's fin comes from certain species. There are a lot of species that
are plentiful."[13] There is no reliable count for the numbers taken in
the shark fin trade and thus it is hard to prove the claims on either side
of the argument.[3]
Shark fin fishing boat off the Galapagos, Ecuador
According to Giam's article, "sharks are caught virtually all parts of the world. Despite the strongly declared
objectives of the Fisheries Commission in Brussels, there are very few restrictions on fishing for sharks in European
waters. The meat of dogfishes, smoothhounds, cat sharks, skates and rays is in high demand by European
consumers...The situation in Canada and the United States is similar: the blue shark is sought after as a sport fish
while the porbeagle, mako and spiny dogfish are part of the commercial fishery...the truth is this: Sharks will
continue to be caught and killed on a wide scale by the more organized and sophisticated fishing nations...targeting
shark's fin soup will not stop this accidental catch. The fins from these catches will be thrown away or turned into
animal feed and fertilizers if shark's fin soup is shunned."
International reaction
Many countries now prohibit finning; however, many international waters are unregulated. International fishing
authorities are considering banning shark fishing (and finning) in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Finning
is banned in the Eastern Pacific,[14] but shark fishing and finning continues unabated in most of the Pacific and
Indian Ocean.[3] In countries such as Thailand and Singapore, public awareness advertisements on finning have
reportedly reduced consumption by 25%. In 2007, Canadian filmmaker and biologist Rob Stewart created a film,
Shark finning
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Sharkwater, which exposes the shark fin industry in detail.
China
NBA All-Star Yao Ming pledged to stop eating shark fin soup at a
news conference on August 2, 2006. Yao's comments were largely
unreported in the Chinese media and drew a reproach from Chinese
seafood industry associations. Ironically, shark fin soup was on Yao
Ming's wedding dinner menu.[15] [16] U.S. basketball player Tracy
McGrady, a team mate of Yao's, reportedly said that he was impressed
by the soup when he tried it for the first time, but was criticized by the
Hong Kong branch of the World Wildlife Federation for his remark.[17]
Late Australian naturalist Steve Irwin was known to walk out of
Chinese restaurants if he saw shark fin soup on the menu.[18] The
Chinese-American chef, Ken Hom, sees the West doing little to protect
stocks of cod and caviar-producing sturgeon despite the outcry over
shark-finning, but he also stresses the wastefulness of harvesting only
the fins.[19]
Hong Kong
A dried shark fin on display with dried sea
cucumbers and abalone
Hong Kong Disneyland dropped shark fin soup from its wedding
banquet menu after international pressure from environmental groups, who threatened to boycott its parks worldwide
despite the high demand for the delicacy in China.[20] The University of Hong Kong has banned shark fin on
campus.[21]
Malaysia
On September 15, 2007, Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry Azmi Khalid banned shark's fin
soup from official functions committing to the Malaysian Nature Society (for conservation of shark species).[22]
New Zealand
The great white sharks have been given full protection in the territorial waters of New Zealand[23] but shark finning
is legal on other shark species if the shark is dead. The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand are
campaigning to raise awareness of shark finning[24] and a number of foodies have fronted the campaign.[25]
Palau
In 2009, the Republic of Palau created the world's first shark sanctuary. It is illegal to catch sharks within Palau's
EEZ, which covers an area of 230,000 square miles. This is an area about the size of France. President Johnson
Toribiong also called for a ban on global shark finning, stating: "These creatures are being slaughtered and are
perhaps at the brink of extinction unless we take positive action to protect them."[26]
United States
Bill Clinton banned finning in the United States and with U.S.-registered vessels, but not foreign-registered vessels.
Shark fins cannot be imported into the U.S. without the associated carcass. In 1991, the percentage of sharks killed
by U.S. longline fisheries in the Pacific Ocean for finning was approximately 3%. By 1998, that percentage had
grown to 60%. Between 1991 and 1998, the number of sharks retained by the Hawaii-based swordfish and tuna
longline fishery had increased from 2,289 to 60,857 annually, and by 1998, an estimated 98% of these sharks were
Shark finning
killed for their fins.
In January 2009, the United States House of Representatives passed the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 to close
loopholes in the US finning ban. The measure is pending in the United States Senate.
In 2010, Hawaii became the first state to ban the possession, sale and distribution of shark fins. The law will take
effect on July 1, 2011.[27]
See also
• Overfishing
• Shark fin soup
External links
• Decline of Big Sharks Lets Small Predators Decimate Shellfish [28], Washington Post. March 2007
• Triple Threat: World Fin Trade May Harvest up to 73 Million Sharks per Year [29], research published in Ecology
Letters, September 2006
• Shark Finning Fact sheet [30]
• In Search of Credibility & Cooperation in Shark Conservation [31]
• Decimating Shark Population for Some Soup [32]
• Shark Fin Soup [33] ...a painting with a point
• Shark Finning Resource Center [34] Sensory Escape Images
References
[1] Nicholas Bakalar (2006-10-12). "38 Million Sharks Killed for Fins Annually, Experts Estimate" (http:/ / news. nationalgeographic. com/
news/ 2006/ 10/ 061012-shark-fin. html). National Geographic. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[2] Geoffrey York (2003-08-27). "Shark Soup" (http:/ / www. flmnh. ufl. edu/ FISH/ sharks/ innews/ sharksoup2003. htm). The Globe and Mail.
. Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[3] "Sharks" (http:/ / www. wildaid. org/ index. asp?CID=3& PID=352& SUBID=& TERID=490). WildAid. . Retrieved 6 January 2007.
[4] Giam Choo Hoo (2006-12-01). "Shark's fin soup – eat without guilt" (http:/ / www. iwmc. org/ PDF/ StraitsTPress. pdf). The Straits Times. .
Retrieved 6 January 2007.
[5] Clarke, Shelley C.; Murdoch K. McAllister, E. J. Milner-Gulland, G. P. Kirkwood, Catherine G. J. Michielsens, David J. Agnew, Ellen K.
Pikitch, Hideki Nakano, Mahmood S. Shivji (2006). "Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets".
Ecology Letters 9 (10): 1115–1126. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00968.x. ISSN 1461-023X. "Estimates of the total number of sharks traded
annually worldwide, based on all fin positions combined, ranged from 26 to 73 million".
[6] Clarke, Shelley C.; Murdoch K. McAllister, E. J. Milner-Gulland, G. P. Kirkwood, Catherine G. J. Michielsens, David J. Agnew, Ellen K.
Pikitch, Hideki Nakano, Mahmood S. Shivji (2006). "Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets".
Ecology Letters 9 (10): 1115–1126. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00968.x. ISSN 1461-023X. "Our median biomass estimate for the global
shark fin trade based on all fin positions combined [...] is [...] nearly three times higher than the high FAO estimate".
[7] "Disaster off the coast of the Cocos Islands" (http:/ / www. shark-info. ch/ News/ newsres. html?lang=e& keyword=Fins& num=161). Shark
Info. . Retrieved 5 December 2007.
[8] "shark conservation" (http:/ / www. bluespheremedia. com/ shark-conservation. html). Blue Sphere Media. . Retrieved 5 December 2007.
[9] "16 January 2007: Encountering Shark Finners inside our Marine Protected Area" (http:/ / misoolecoresort. com/ newsJanuary2007. html).
Misool Eco Resort. . Retrieved 5 December 2007.
[10] "List of endangered sharks" (http:/ / www. sharktrust. org/ do_download. asp?did=26336). The Shark Trust. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[11] Peter Gastrow (2001). "Triad Societies and Chinese Organised Crime in South Africa" (http:/ / www. iss. co. za/ Pubs/ Papers/ 48/ 48. html).
Institute for Security Studies. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[12] Laura Marquez (2006-10-30). "Rising Demand For Fins Contributes To Decline In Shark Population, Critics Charge" (http:/ / www. flmnh.
ufl. edu/ fish/ sharks/ InNews/ critics2006. html). ABC News. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[13] "Disney Hong Kong insists on shark's fin-soup meals" (http:/ / www. taipeitimes. com/ News/ biz/ archives/ 2005/ 05/ 29/ 2003257104).
Taipei Times. 2005-05-29. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[14] "Shark Finning Banned in Eastern Pacific Ocean" (http:/ / www. ens-newswire. com/ ens/ jun2005/ 2005-06-29-03. asp). Environment News
Service. 2005-06-09. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
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Shark finning
[15] "Media silent on shark fin soup affair" (http:/ / www. thestandard. com. hk/ news_detail. aspwe_cat=9& art_id=26301& sid=9676185&
con_type=3& d_str=20060901). TheStandard. 2006-09-01. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[16] David Barboza (2006-08-13). "Waiter, There’s a Celebrity in My Shark FinSoup" (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2006/ 08/ 13/ weekinview/
13barboza. htmlex=1313121600& en=bf6278b2a0e6f52& ei=5088& partner=rssnyt& emc=rss). The New York Times. . Retrieved 8January
2006.
[17] "Basketball star berated for shark fin dinner" (http:/ / www. bangkokpost. net/ breaking_news/ breakingnews. php?id=112686). Bangkok
Post. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[18] Mike Dolan (2006-09-04). "Death of the crocodile hunter" (http:/ / www. thefirstpost. co. uk/ index. php?menuID=2& subID=883& p=2).
The First Post. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[19] Ken Hom (2005-06-09). "A shark's tale" (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ g2/ story/ 0,,1516720,00. html). The Guardian. . Retrieved 8
January 2006.
[20] Chester Yung and Teddy Ng (2005-06-25). "Disney ditches shark's fin" (http:/ / www. thestandard. com. hk/ stdn/ std/ Metro/ GF25Ak01.
html). The Standard. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[21] Doug Crets and Mimi Lau (2005-11-03). "HKU bans shark fin dishes" (http:/ / www. thestandard. com. hk/ news_detail. asp?pp_cat=11&
art_id=4810& sid=5300167& con_type=1). The Standard. . Retrieved 8 January 2007.
[22] ChannelNewsAsia.com, Malaysian ministry bans shark's fin soup (http:/ / www. channelnewsasia. com/ stories/ afp_asiapacific/ view/
299995/ 1/ . html)
[23] Anderton, Jim (2007-04-01). "Full protection for great white sharks starts today" (http:/ / beehive. govt. nz/ release/ full+ protection+ great+
white+ sharks+ starts+ today). New Zealand Government. . Retrieved 2008-08-27.
[24] "Save Our Sharks" (http:/ / www. forestandbird. org. nz/ Marine/ SharksPage. asp). Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New
Zealand. . Retrieved 2008-08-27.
[25] "Foodies sign pledge against shark fin soup" (http:/ / www. stuff. co. nz/ 4669469a19716. html). NZPA. 2008-08-27. . Retrieved
2008-08-27.
[26] "Palau pioneers 'shark sanctuary'" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ science/ nature/ 8272508. stm) BBC News, 25 September 2009.
[27] McAvoy, Audrey (Saturday, May 29, 2010). "No more eating shark fin in Hawaii after new law" (http:/ / hosted. ap. org/ dynamic/ stories/
U/ US_SHARK_FIN_BAN?SITE=CAANG& SECTION=HOME& TEMPLATE=DEFAULT). Associated Press. . Retrieved May 29, 2010.
[28] http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2007/ 03/ 29/ AR2007032901963. html
[29] http:/ / www. blackwellpublishing. com/ ecology/ news/ news. asp?id=186
[30] http:/ / www. sharktrust. org/ do_download. asp?did=26336
[31] http:/ / www. iwmc. org/ sharks/ 000729-3. htm
[32] http:/ / abcnews. go. com/ Technology/ story?id=2616156& page=1
[33] http:/ / seawitchartist. com/ shark-fin-soup. htm
[34] http:/ / www. sensoryescapeimages. com/ what-is-shark-finning/
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Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
Shark finning Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=375968710 Contributors: A dullard, Alan Liefting, Animal right, Apothecia, Az29, Bradrules, Caspian blue, Cybercobra,
Debresser, Dominus, Elway4Ever, Epipelagic, Gimme danger, Globe-trotter, GoingBatty, Ground Zero, IrishWolfhoundJC, J04n, Jevansen, Jonathan.s.kt, Katieh5584, Kyle1278, Latitude0116,
Lfstevens, LilHelpa, Lipstar, Morning277, Nathanc78, NerdyScienceDude, Opl332, Pfoggia, Philip Trueman, Pizzy999, Princess Clown, R'n'B, Rexodus, Rogerlarsen, Sblack05, Seawitch57,
Sjschen, Skepticus, SlubGlub, The Thing That Should Not Be, Tide rolls, Viriditas, Wknight94, Xenophrenic, Yomangani, 62 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Shark fins.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Shark_fins.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: NOAA
Image:Global shark catch graph.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Global_shark_catch_graph.png License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0
Contributors: User:Chris huh
File:Aileron de requin.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Aileron_de_requin.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Contributors: Tom Burke (Morgan Hill,
CA, USA)
File:Ecuadorian fishing boat.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ecuadorian_fishing_boat.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors:
Paul Stein
Image:SharkFinTin9.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SharkFinTin9.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: A. B. 10, Caspian blue,
Cybercobra, Nikola Smolenski, Sun Tung Lok BOZZ, 2 anonymous edits
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