participants had given up shark fin
within the previous three years.
This signals a gradual cultural shiftaway from the traditional popularity
and acceptability of consuming shark
fin soup – and the statistics speak
volumes. A 2013 report published
in Marine Policy estimated that 100
million sharks are killed every year,
although the figure could be anywhere
between 63 million and 273 million.
The primary cause behind these
shocking numbers? Overfishing for
fins and meat.
WHAT IS BEING DONE?
“Pretty much every country in the
world has banned shark finning,
defined as the act of catching the
animal, hacking off the fins, and
discarding the body (many times while
it is still alive) at sea,” says Randall
Arauz, policy advisor of the shark
conservation group, Fins Attached.
Fishermen can only dock with
sharks that have their fins attached –
to then be processed on land. But,
this is little more than a defence
against a barbaric practice.Arauz states that “in spite of the good
intention, this regulation has done
nothing at all to address overfishing...
The requirement to simply land all the
sharks caught is hardly a management
policy, and it has no effect on
population rebuilding”. The danger
of the shark finning industry is that
of unsustainable fishing, threatening
the existence of dozens of shark
species and drastically reducing the
overall population. “Sharks need a
drastic reduction of fisheries-induced
mortality,” affirms Arauz.A 2016 poll by WWF Singapore found
that over three-quarters of Singaporeans
want government policy to counter the
consumption of shark fin
below Workers cut off shark fins
at the Karangsong fish market in
Indramayu, Indonesia. Despite
the objections of the Indonesian
government, shark fishing is still
common due to the high demand
for shark finleft Dead sharks piled up
at a fish market
bottom left A fisherman
selling shark at a fish market
in Beruwala, Sri LankaIMAGE © GETTY IMAGES