mood blogcast ～ aijuswanawrite: Bloody Shark Fin Soups

itunes: E=MC2, Mariah Carey (2008)

Sherman's Lagoon comic strip in Sunday's Times today raised the concern on the threats of sharks caused by over-fishing and over-consumption of shark products and by wasteful practices such as finning and needless bycatch. I have quitted eating shark fin after seeing the disturbing pictures of shark finning (there are some below) a couple of years ago. Since then, I have advocating the facts to the people I know over meals, especially when there are shark fin soup being served. I just dun understand why everyone keep giving this silly excuse, "eating once or twice is fine since it merely sacrifice a couple of sharks only." A statement of short-sightness, I would say. Killing stops when demand stops, just look at the magnitude of demand and supply. There is a common sight I noticed. There are assholes who agreed and particpated with my advocate discussion and yet still slurping the bowl of sharks' fin soup. KILLERS! STOP EATING THE BLOODY SHARK FIN NOW!

Why shark conservation? Source: Ocean Conservancy

1. Sharks aren't so fierce
Sharks are in deep trouble. Like many other ocean fish, we're taking too many out of the ocean. Although they seem tough, sharks are among the most vulnerable animals in our oceans. Most species grow very slowly and have few young. Their populations cannot take much fishing before they start to decline. In fact, many shark species are now considered threatened with extinction. Several populations have dropped by 80% or more; some need 100 years or more to rebuild to healthy levels.

2. Sharks are important
Most sharks are at the top of the food chain. They prey on weak and wounded animals and keep the other populations healthy and in check. Scientists warn that losing too many sharks will disrupt the balance of life in the oceans, causing problems for other species and probably ourselves.

3. Sharks are in demand
Interest in sharks for food and sport is growing. Shark meat, such as that from the dogfish shark, is popular is some countries, but not as valuable as cod or tuna. The priciest parts of most sharks are their fins, used to make a traditional Asian delicacy known as shark fin soup. The high price of fins together with the lower value meat too often leads to “finning” the act of cutting of a shark's fins and tossing the rest of the body away at sea. Shark finning has been banned in many oceans, but rules need to be stronger to make sure it is stopped for good.

4. Sharks are under-protected
Although their fins are worth a lot of money, sharks are still not the favorite catch of most fishermen. Many people still fear sharks; they aren't convinced we need to protect them at all. That adds up to sharks rarely getting as much attention as other fish by the people setting fishing rules. Too often, shark catch limits are set too high and come too late to avoid damage to the population. The U.S. is proposing measures to allow overfished shark populations in the Atlantic to recover. There are still no limits on the amount of sharks taken from international waters (outside 200 miles from shore), even though many shark species swim far out into the ocean.

Reports on sharks from Wildaid:

8 Steps to a Bowl of Shark Fin Soup