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 […]
Tag: shark fin soup
Petition: Ask Congress to Pass the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act!
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, […]
Canada becomes first G7 country to ban shark fin imports
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 […]
POLL: Should international shipping of shark fins be banned?
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 […]
POLL: Should the importing of shark fins be banned?
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 […]
Victory! Major airline in China bans shark fins
In a major victory for sharks, China Southern Airlines has officially banned the shipment of shark fins on its flights. The airline is the largest in China and is based in Guangzhou, a city that’s gained notoriety for serving up shark fin soup. Not only is the shark fin trade incredibly cruel and wasteful, it’s […]
Slaughterhouse Said to Process “Horrifying” Number of Whale Sharks Annually
Whale sharks are being slaughtered: That’s the shocking news from a report issued by WildLifeRisk, a nongovernmental organization. A three-year investigation provides evidence that a factory in southeastern China is cutting up about 600 of the 21-ton (19-tonne) fish a year. It’s illegal—whale sharks are a protected species under Chinese and international law. But it’s […]
One quarter of sharks and rays threatened with extinction
One quarter of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction, according to a new study published in the open-access journal eLife. The paper analyzed the threat and conservation status of 1,041 species of chondrichthyans—the class of fish whose skeletons are made of cartilage instead of bone which includes sharks, rays, skates and chimaeras—and […]