$$$$ for fins

[chomper]

I never knew it was this crazy..... Saw these 2 posts on Coastal Fishing Texas.com

Elizabeth Murdock, 30, is the shark-conservation program manager for WildAid, an international nonprofit with headquarters in North Beach. One of her primary goals is to combat the cruel "finning" of sharks for shark-fin soup, an expensive East Asian delicacy. I interviewed Murdock as we strolled through Chinatown, inspecting the lucrative fins.

Shark-fin soup -- who eats it?

Shark-fin soup was just a regional delicacy in Canton, south China, until the late 1980s. The Beijing government had derided shark-fin soup as a symbol of elitism, but it ended this stance in 1987. Increased East Asian affluence quickly made shark-fin soup popular at wedding banquets, birthdays, feasts and business dinners, as a way of honoring guests. The demand has escalated astronomically in the last 15 years, and now it's a standard dish.

Hong Kong has roughly 50 percent of the global trade in shark fins. I've seen entire streets there lined with shark-fin shops; huge burlap bags brimming with shark fins are stacked into warehouses. Its safe to assume that most of the shark fins in Chinatown are from Hong Kong.

How expensive is shark's fin?

Let's find out.

(We enter Tung Tai Ginseng Company on Grant Street. A huge glass jar of dried yellow shark fins has a $328 price. We ask a man behind a desk what $328 refers to; he frowns and shakes his head. Suddenly, a woman appears.)

(Woman) "Do you need some help?"

(Murdock) How much do those shark fins cost?

(Woman) $328 per pound.

(Murdock) How many shark fins do you get per pound?

(Woman) About eight pieces.

(Murdock) How many fins do you need to make soup for 10 people?

(Woman) We don't give out that information.

(Murdock, to me as we exit the store): That price is $40 per fin. That makes sense. I've heard bowls of shark-fin soup cost from $10 to $65 in Bay Area restaurants.

Wow! Is it delicious? How's it prepared? Is it healthy?

It's cooked for a very long time until the shark fin separates into needles of cartilage that look like clear noodles. The fin itself has no taste, but it's served with a broth of chicken, ham and shiitake that it absorbs. The final texture is supposed to be interesting.

Shark-fin soup is traditionally regarded in Chinese medicine as a tonic. [It's good at strengthening the waist, supplementing vital energy, nourishing blood, invigorating kidney and lung and improving digestion, according to the Compendium of Materia Medica] Modern nutritionists find it rich in protein, and the large amount of gelatin contained can help the growth of cartilage.

But scientifically speaking, shark fin has little nutritional value--and, in fact, it may even be harmful to health over the long term, as shark fins have been found to contain high levels of mercury.

Those shark fins we saw -- who buys them?

Many of the local Bay Area Chinese restaurants that offer banquet dining have shark-fin soup on the menu. Lots of the fins here are also cooked up in people's homes.

Which sharks are killed for their fins? Are they endangered?

There are 400 species of shark, and many are used for their fins. Blue, hammerhead and silky sharks are the most highly traded in Hong Kong. Mako and thresher are also popular, and great white is also used. All these species are found off the California coast.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says over 100 million sharks, skates and rays are killed every year. We figure that's just half the total, because another half is unreported. This total threatens sharks because they reproduce slowly, more like mammals than fish. Some sharks only have 1-2 pups every other year, and they may take nine or more years to mature.

Shark populations are quickly declining -- the dusky-shark population in the U.S. Atlantic has declined 90 percent.

Does WildAid want shark fishing to become illegal?

No. Sharks are an important source of protein in certain parts of the world, like India and West Africa. It's primarily the huge value for fins that endangers sharks--its like a global gold rush. What WildAid wants is an international ban on finning.

What exactly is finning?

"Finning" refers to the practice of cutting off only the shark fins and discarding the body. Sometimes sharks are dead when they're pulled into the boats, but often, they're still alive as their four fins are cut off with a knife. When they're thrown back into the ocean the sharks either bleed to death, or they drown, because sharks can't swim without fins, and they need to go forward to get oxygen. Divers have discovered hundreds of dead finned sharks at the bottom of the ocean in huge shark graveyards.

Fifty percent of sharks are bycatch -- they're accidentally caught by boats that are looking for tuna, swordfish or other fish. Many of the boats don't want to keep the entire shark, so they just fin them. This greatly increases the amount of sharks killed, because a fishing boat can hold an enormous amount of fins.

Are California fishermen finning sharks?

Last August, a U.S. ship was apprehended by the Coast Guard and brought into port in San Diego. It was transporting no shark bodies, but 32 tons of shark fins, which represents between 14,000 and 29,000 sharks. Finning has been illegal in U.S. waters since 2000, but regulating this can be difficult.

[Sam]

At least it is illegal here in the states. Crazy people with their superstitious beliefs. It's upsetting to see 32 tons of shark fins apprehended because you know there are other boats getting away with it.

Some people (cultures) in this world seem to have no regard for animal life. I have seen videos of dogs being harvested for food and treated horribly in the orient and this is yet another example of disgusting greed.

[igormothra]

Originally Posted by Sam

At least it is illegal here in the states. Crazy people with their superstitious beliefs. It's upsetting to see 32 tons of shark fins apprehended because you know there are other boats getting away with it.

Some people (cultures) in this world seem to have no regard for animal life. I have seen videos of dogs being harvested for food and treated horribly in the orient and this is yet another example of disgusting greed.

I am gonna have to disagree with you a little on that one Sam.... We in the west have less regard for animal life than any other country I have ever been too. Walking throught the open markets of places in the phillipines, Hong Kong, Singapore etc. etc.etc... you can buy just about every part of any animal for consumption. I have eaten dog, cat, snakes, iguanas, and many more that if I think about it I cringe. In many of the "third world" countries the entire animal is eaten because the quality meat is reserved for the "upper class" so the low income(and I mean low...they make less in a year than we make in a week) has to eat the left over products. So while I agree that practices like Finning are horrific and should be banned at all cost, I would hesitate to cast judgement on another culture's diet. You are right about the greed though, because the"upper class" keeps the rest in such a state that they are forced to do what ever they have to survive.

[Sam]

I'm not sure which part of my statement you are disagreeing with. I didn't cast judgement on a cultures diet, just the way they treat the animals.

Then again, maybe I am casting judgement. I don't like the fact that people eat dogs or cats. Call me sentimental, but growing up with them, you tend to bond with them better than some people. Much different from a cow or a chicken.

All I have to go by is what I have seen on video and it disgusted me. You, on the other hand have seen it in real life and probably have a better understanding of the situation.

Just curious, how do we have less regard for animal life here in the west?

[Steve]

I have lived in Asia and yes, they eat everything.....
I cast judgment on ANYONE that decimates an apex predator that keeps the ocean healthy.

As noted previously, shark being a by-catch, finned and the bodies thrown back in by the thousands.

Explain it any way you want but I still have my thoughts. To endanger a species simply for a "cure-all" soup is just stupid.
What happens when they are gone?
What happens when the seas get "sick"?
What happens when we wind up with a three-eyed Marlin with a tail fin sticking out of it's belly?

It just erks me to no end.....

[Pier_man0909]

we catch it and eat it

[Coop]

Saw a show of a boat catching lots of sharks and cutting thier fins off and throwing them back in,,,truly made me sick to my stomach.

[igormothra]

ever seen a veal farm???? not saying I don't eat it. Which is pretty bad cause I am suppoting the industry. I would almost rather eat dog. At least we are all in agreement that the practice of Finning is disgusting. I don't understand why they don't bring the whole shark in... would feed thousands.

[chomper]

Originally Posted by igormothra

ever seen a veal farm???? not saying I don't eat it. Which is pretty bad cause I am suppoting the industry. I would almost rather eat dog. At least we are all in agreement that the practice of Finning is disgusting. I don't understand why they don't bring the whole shark in... would feed thousands.

Veal calves are fed a diet lacking Iron. It gives em the runs for their entire short life. That is kinda brutal, knowingly, undernourishing your animals. But it is done for the same reason that fins are brought back and the real meat is left to rot at sea....$$$$.... $349 a pound for fins. Its about lotsa money..... 3000+ metric tonnes seized on a boat In San Diego. Thats alot of money when ya do the math.

[Sam]

I'm not eating veal anymore... Anyone else have any great stories? I'll be eating carrots and beans for the rest of my life...

[seabass]

Did you say cats and dogs ?

[Sam]

Seabass, those photos prove my point and I'm sure they would make the average american sick to their stomach. I just can't let them stay because of the nature of the pictures.

[Oceanoma]

Watch out Sam, you are still in danger. Make sure you don't cook those carrots and beans. LOL Your comments made me think of a scene from Notting Hill - when Huge Grant was trying to find a new girlfriend and was introduced to a girl who was a Fruitarian. I had never heard of such a thing. Had to look it up. http://www.fruitarian.com/ao/WhatIsFruitarianism.htm

[chomper]

Wow. I havent heard that word in a while. Gotta did through the PETA sights for some of that info. Here is one where the people would like to think they are even more "hippie" than the fruitarians, although I still define em in the same category. Ready? .... Breathatarian .... here is a link..... very unrealistic IMO...
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~n51ls801/PHI340mirror/bvra.html

[Sam]

Chomper, that is insane. It has to be a joke! What do these people eat?