By: UW360
Enough with the doom and gloom – things finally appear
to be picking up for sharks, but will this positive trend be
sustained?
What’s up with
the Shark Fin Trade
Unless you have been living under
a rock, most of us would be aware
of the dire situation that sharks
are facing today. Stemming from
a Chinese tradition of serving
shark’s fin soup at prestigious
banquets, the unsustainable and
brutal killing of sharks to meet the
demand has left sharks in a struggle
for survival.
According to the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) 2014 report, the global catch
of sharks and rays peaked in 2003,
and has since dropped by
approximately 20 percent. This is
good news for sharks, and for us
as well, bearing in mind that sharks
are a key player in the oceans’
ecosystem. As the word continues
to spread, it seems that more
nations are joining in the movement,
including the original consumers
themselves, the Chinese. In a 2014
study on the decline of shark fin
demand in China, WildAid noted that
shark fin consumption in China has
dropped by 50–70 percent since 2011.
Similarly, an analysis of worldwide
customs and trade data published inthe journal Biological Conservation in
2015 by Eriksson and Clarke confirms
that shark-fin trade has dropped by
approximately 25 percent over the
last decade.
In the same report by WildAid,
a shift in trade from Hong Kong to
Guangzhou, China, had been found.
Hong Kong, the epicentre of the global
shark fin trade between 1980 and 1990,
has been facing a decline in imports
since the year 2000. Now, the bulk of
all shark fins enter Guangzhou directly
by ship, which has since hindered the
accessibility of shark fin trade data.ABOVE: The shark fin trade is no laughing matter
IMAGE: Stan Gonia