Most people, even animal lovers, are pretty scared of sharks. Most depictions and coverage of sharks suggests that they are violent, dangerous creatures. However, sharks actually have reason to be way more afraid of humans. A significantly greater number of sharks are killed by humans every year than humans killed by sharks (I’m talking hundreds […]
A hunger for shark fin soup — a brothy, gelatinous dish that’s considered a delicacy in East Asia — is responsible for the deaths of about 73 million sharks each year. It was previously believed that many of these sharks were being caught in international waters, beyond the authority of any individual country, but a […]
U.S. authorities say they’ve broken up a conspiracy to traffic shark fins in and out of Florida by a company based in California, where their sale and export is banned by law. In an indictment released Sept. 4 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, prosecutors allege that 12 people took […]
Customs officials in Hong Kong have seized 26 tons of shark fins from an estimated 38,500 sharks classified as vulnerable and protected species — the biggest shipment ever to be intercepted in the region, according to a press release published May 6. This is more than double the amount of all fins seized in 31 […]
The survival of sharks is threatened, but they are vital to many ecosystems. Not only do they keep marine ecosystems in check, but they also keep the carbon cycle in motion. One of their biggest threats is the shark fin trade. It’s a terribly cruel practice done to use the fins in shark fin soup, […]
It was on a family visit to Hong Kong that Kristyn Wong-Tam noticed her uncle – a well-regarded chef – was the only person at the table not touching a bowl of shark fin soup. When he explained how fins are hacked from struggling sharks, before their bodies are tossed back into the water, the […]
President Donald Trump has found himself in yet another controversy; for once, the focus is not on what came out of his mouth, but rather what he put in it. Over the weekend, Trump shared a dinner with Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi. According to reports, Trump was served a course of shark fin soup, which […]
Shark finning in Canadian waters is illegal, but due to a lapse in legislative action there is currently no national ban on importing shark fins from regions where the practice remains legal. And animal rights advocates say that has to change. Shark finning has actually been illegal in Canada since 1994, meaning that no shark […]