Pause for a second. Now I know humans find it hard to sympathise with these supposed bloodthirsty, ferocious predators due to prejudice, horror stories of attacks on surfers and Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' which depicts a murderous, evil fish hell-bent on eating everything and anything. Now rewind. These animals evolved 400 million years ago, a good 200 million years before the first forms of mammal arrived on the planet. They have evolved so well as apex predators and over time have well and truly established themselves as a main brick in the ecological house that is the ocean. Remove this keystone foundation and the whole ecosystem will fall. They feed on sick and dying fish maintaining healthy populations and in turn improve water quality. They do not attack humans intentionally and out of some violent rage, many encounters of sharks and humans are due to the former confusing swimmers with seals. Across the globe there are on average 12 attacks by sharks on humans a year, but you can guarantee all these incidences will be reported on and made into some horror story by the media, feeding the publics' distaste for this animal.
Ironically, it should be reported how many humans kill sharks - 3 sharks die a second at the hands of Homo sapiens - now that is a true horror story. 55% of all shark species are at serious risk of becoming extinct in the near future. As I mentioned before they are crucial to the way of life in marine ecosystems. Along the US east coast where large sharks such as the tiger shark and black tip shark have been virtually eliminated, surveys show that shellfish populations have dramatically declined and the overall quality of the water is exceptionally poor.
Fishermen have also acknowledged that sharks are getting smaller. This is due to excessive overhunting not allowing for sharks to mature. Decimated shark populations do not recover over night - many species do not sexually mature until 6 or 7 years of age and females typically give birth to only one or two pups annually. If some species are driven to near extinction before we stop this cruel practice, they may not be able to ever recover. And with some populations decreased by 90% this devastating fact may be true of some well known and much respected shark species. We must act NOW.
I watched a video about shark finning entitled, 'Sharks Don't Cry'. Well, I cried plenty for them. It's horrific. It's unnecessary evil. These animals must endure so much pain and so much anguish all for a bowl of tasteless soup that is usually made with chicken or vegetable stock to add a flavour. The fins are used only for texture.
Is it hypocritical to protest for a ban on shark finning when we slaughter so many animals such as cows, chicken and sheep? Even though I do not agree with the way farm animals are transported to slaughterhouses and methods used to kill them, they are far more humane than being finned alive and tossed back into the sea. Could you imagine the outcry if lambs and cows had their limbs cut off and left to bleed out in fields? This is exactly what is happening to sharks!! Sharks are not farmed animals, they are not bred for consumption - we are relying on natural populations to fuel the desire for shark fin soup. Also, with many species of shark endangered a ban needs to proceed to protect their survival for future generations. They banned the import and export of ivory to protect elephants and rhinoceros - we need this protection for sharks. I'm not naive - I know ivory is till sold through black markets, but even if fish fins continued to sell this way after a ban was put in place, there would still be a lot less sharks slaughtered than without it.
Many argue shark fin soup is part of Chinese culture. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe in those arguments. If tradition is so important why have others been banned such as foot binding? Surely if that argument had to stand, every tradition would still be upheld? And as a tradition, only the very wealthy consumed bowls of shark fin soup. Comparatively, a few million people could afford to eat the soup in the 1980s, but as China becomes richer, up to 300 million people now choose to eat it on a regular basis. Additionally, many who argure that it is a national tradition do not care about the conservation status of sharks - surely if it was such an important part of Chinese culture the protection of shark populations would be impertinent in order to sustain shark fin soup for generations to come?
Another weak argument for the justification of shark fin soup is that it is good for you. That must be why doctors strongly advise pregnant woman and children not to consume the soup due to the high contents of mercury found in sharks and other marine life. Also the fins are treated with hydrogen peroxide in order to produce a more appealing colour before added to the 'delicacy'. Mmm, sounds yummy!!
Much to my dismay, I discovered that a Chinese restaurant near where I live sells shark fin soup - Ho Wong restaurant found at 82 York Street, Glasgow. I know that many people are not aware of the practice of shark finning and my plan is to email the restaurant with some information about this and to ask if they would consider removing this dish from their menu. One voice may not be loud enough to portray the importance of this message and I would be so appreciative if others could do the same. Maybe together we can stop Glasgow from participating in the cruel slaughter of sharks. Please send a polite email on your opinions of shark fin soup to info@howong.co.uk
This is the video I mentioned previously Sharks Don't Cry. Please, please let's work together and stop shark finning.
Heatherbelle
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