History of Shark Fin Soup

History of Shark Fin Soup

Behind every dish is an interesting tale. Through primary research, we discovered that shark fin
soup began in the Sung dynasty and is a symbol of wealth and health. Shark fin soup is part of
what is known as the “Big 4″ dishes at a traditional banquet dinner where 5-10 dishes are
commonly served. They symbolize different things such as prosperity and include:

1. Abalone [bào]
2. Sea cucumber [shēn]
3. Shark fin [chì]
4. Fish maw [dǔ]

Not everyone insists on getting all four, but shark fin soup is often the most essential dish our of
the “Big 4″ for banquet dinners. Shark fin soup is commonly served in two forms:

1. Individual: Entire fin intact served in individual bowls with a bit of thick broth. This is
purchased as dish by affluent individuals, often for special occasions.
2. “Big bowl” style: Strands of the fin are pulled apart and are mixed with strips of chicken
meat, served with a condensed chicken or pork broth. This is put in a large family-style
serving bowl and distributed into individual bowls, often when the big bowl reaches the
table.

The majority of shark fin soup is served “big bowl” style during banquets or large dinners for
birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers or business celebrations. However, shark fin soup is most
notably served during wedding banquets as a sign of wealth and a demonstration of “mian zi”, or
face. Traditionally, at weddings where shark fin soup is served, the groom’s side of the family
pays for the wedding. There is a long-established expression that says “if there is no shark fin
soup at the wedding banquet, the bride is marrying into a poor family”. This folklore has been so
deeply engrained in consumers that it is seen as distasteful or cheap to not serve one’s guests
shark fin soup.

Remember, trying to alter the traditions of any culture is difficult and a culturally sensitive topic.
Imagine telling people they couldn’t have turkey for Thanksgiving!

Some also believe that shark fin holds medicinal value and while that is arguable, shark fin is
proven to have mercury content that stays in your system indefinitely after ingestion. See the
Truths for more info.

With Chinese New Year approaching, spare a thought for the sharks.

Those who love sharks and respect the health of the oceans find the mere idea of shark finning
revolting. Not only is it cruel and wasteful, the practice of finning could have a devastating effect
on shark numbers and on marine ecosystems. Unfortunately, shark finning continues because of
one thing: DEMAND.
A wasteful and grotesque industry

A quick reminder of what is involved in shark finning: The fins are cut off from a live shark and
the remainder of the animal is thrown back in the water. The mutilated shark then sinks to the

bottom of the sea to die.

Fishing fleets equipped with long line and hooks to target tuna used to release the accidental
catches of shark but having become savvy to the monetary value of shark fin, they now collect
the fins.

This is extremely wasteful. The fins make up a tiny portion of the animal and there is very little
demand for shark meat. Improved fishing technology has meant an increase in the numbers of
sharks caught and finned. Most of the shark finning take place in the high seas but some coastal
populations in developing nations have taken on the practice of finning and drying on land – as
this can be lucrative – and this poses problems for shark populations in these particular areas.

A threat to shark numbers is serious for the sea as a whole. Sharks develop slowly, gestate slowly
and have fewer young than most fish. They can decline rapidly when fished in large numbers and
recovery takes a long time. As sharks are at the top of the food chain keeping other species in
check, their decline can have devastating effects for the entire marine ecosystem.

In most countries, it is not illegal to sell shark-fin – unless it has come from a protected species.

In early 2009, Senator John Kerry introduced the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850). The
bill moved out of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee by voice vote.
The House of Representatives already passed a companion bill in March. The bill now awaits
consideration by the full Senate. This legislation closes a loophole that currently permits vessels to
transport fins obtained illegally provided the sharks were not finned aboard the vessels.

Who is eating shark fin?

Most of the demand for shark fin has traditionally come from Asia (notably Singapore, Hong Kong
and Taiwan). All over the world, demand from Chinese consumers drives on the trade. In the last
decade, the increased number of wealthier citizens in China has skyrocketed demand.

Shark fin soup has been a highly-prized item used to honour special occasions and many
restaurants cater to banquets and parties with this unsavoury catch.

A perusal through the menus of some popular Chinese restaurants here in Vancouver is revealing.
Restaurants still serve shark fin soup. Some are quite brazen and feature it prominently in their
menus. Others are low-keyed and use euphemisms to advertise their soups – the “luxury golden
seafood special”. Admitting to serving or eating shark fin doesn’t bring the instant revulsion akin
to eating dogs and cats nor are sharks fluffy and cute like baby seals. Sadly, the importance of
maintaining a stable marine ecosystem is not first and foremost on the minds of happy feast
guests.

But does this mean we can only despair and stand idly as shark populations are driven to
extinction?

The customer is always right

In early 2009, a campaign by outraged shareholders and shoppers halted the sale of shark fin
soup targeted at the Chinese New Year’s market by Loblaws/Canadian Superfoods. Anti-Shark Fin
activists also leafleted events taking place around New Years’ celebrations in Toronto with some
positive outcome.

If enough diners enquired about a restaurant’s policy on shark fin, the management and owners
will be forced to take notice (and some more enlightened restaurants are now serving vegetarian
alternatives to shark fin). Many don’t appreciate negative publicity. Ultimately, the consumer is in
control and they can vote with their wallet. We may not be able to do anything about what’s
happening in China but we can refuse to eat in outlets selling shark fin in our own towns and
cities.

The Animal Welfare Institute (US) has a list of restaurants known to be selling shark fin.

A glance through Twitter shows that some still brag about consuming shark fin soup. Perhaps it’ll
go the way of fur coats; once it was a status symbol – now it’s a vulgar display of bad taste. That
can’t happen soon enough.

Finning Facts (From The Shark Trust)

*Hong Kong is the world’s shark fin trading centre, accounting

for 50-80% of fins traded worldwide.

*Currently the EU supplies 27% of all fins imported into Hong Kong.

*Sharks’ life history makes them vulnerable to exploitation –

for example, Basking Sharks take 15-20 years to mature,
have a 2-3 year gestation period and produce only 4–6 pups.

*Wet fins typically represent < 5% of a shark’s body weight.

*Some Atlantic shark populations have declined by up to 80%

in the last 15 years.

*Sets of shark fins can sell for more than US$700/kg, with
hammerhead shark fins among the most valuable by weight.

*A single Whale Shark pectoral fin can sell for up to

US$15,000.

*Global trade in shark fins is increasing, and the market for

shark fin soup is estimated to be growing by 5% per year.
*The EU’s fin to carcass ratio is among the weakest in the
world.

*A third of European sharks, and a total of 110 species of

chondrichthyan fish are listed under a threat category on the
IUCN Red List, with a further 95 species Near Threatened.

Bring on the Chinese New Year banquets | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com

One thing to note: our research showed that shark-fin dishes are still commonplace on New Year’s
banquet menus, despite ongoing warnings by environmentalists that demand for the fins is
wreaking havoc on shark populations worldwide. To those of you who’ve seen the shocking
documentary Sharkwater and still have the savage images of shark finning swimming in your
head, my best advice is to be vocal and discerning. Choose menus that don’t contain shark fin—
such as the two described in the previous paragraph—or ask for a substitution. Ironically, by
doing so you’re likely to save some money, as shark-fin-laden banquets often cost more. While
some Chinese chefs have taken shark fin off their menus on principle, the movement is still in its
infancy. As yet, I’m not aware of any conventional Chinese restaurant locally that has an explicit
no-shark-fin policy.

Having said that, there is no lack of small, neighbourhood Chinese eateries such as Long’s
Noodle House (4853 Main Street, 604-879-7879) that don’t serve shark fin because their
budget-minded customers simply won’t buy it. And then there’s Andrew Wong’s Wild Rice (117
West Pender Street), where shark fin will never be offered.

Learn about the shark fin trade with Shark Truth and Wild Rice
This is Harry the shark, the cute but melancholy mascot for Shark Truth. I’ve only gotten to know
him in the past few months, having been previously unaware of what’s been going on with him
and his kin. At the time that we met, this is what I thought I knew about sharks:

1. The whale shark is the largest fish and acts more like bovine grazer than fearsome
predator. Seeing hammerhead sharks on a nature show always makes me giggle.
2. Shark fins are harvested rather sketchily to make shark fin soup, a Chinese banquet
delicacy. Then again, much ocean wildlife is harvested rather sketchily in Asia and around
the world.
3. The San Jose Sharks have one of the silliest uniforms in the NHL. According to my
husband, they also choke in the playoffs.

You’re probably thinking that this is rather poor shark intelligence – especially for a person who
has been an avid supporter of Ocean Wise, SeaChoice, and marine conservation in general. I at
least don’t walk around thinking that all sharks are of the Jaws variety. My youth was immersed
enough in marine biology and watching The Nature of Things to understand that we’re a far
greater danger to sharks than sharks are to us.

Moreover, the plight of the shark, despite evidence of growing concern, had been falling on my
relatively deaf ears. I don’t eat shark fin soup. I have no interest in ever doing so. It isn’t a
cultural must-do for me like eating Spam and Vienna sausages are in the lunchtime life of a
Filipino child (and yes, I do retain a soft spot for Spam and Vienna sausages). I was paying more
attention to issues that impacted my immediate diet, such as BC spot prawns and sustainable
sushi.

But this started to change when chef/owner Andrew Wong of Wild Rice got in touch with me this
August. He had been contacted by

Andrew was already in the know about the shark fin trade, being more familiar with
documentaries such as Shark Water that illustrate the dark side of finning practices. He had
agreed to be venue sponsor for the inaugural Shark Truth fundraiser and was reaching out to food
media to gauge what people knew about the issue.

After our conversation, I was intrigued enough to meet with Claudia and Vivian to hear about their
cause. They described an interesting goal for their first year of campaigning: to convince at least
40 weddings to “stop the soup”. In other words, they hope to find 40 couples that are willing to
explore and select banquet alternatives to shark fin soup.

This seemed like a reasonable, concrete, and positive approach to spreading the word throughout
the Asian community in Greater Vancouver, and I for one was happy to be a media sponsor for
their Wild Rice campaign launch on November 19th if it would help them out.

Shark trivia

Up to 80 million sharks are killed each year for their fins.

Up to three quarters of oceanic pelagic sharks are facing an elevated risk of extinction. With a
long life span (up to 65 years), late sexual maturity (up to 21 years), and little young (2-3 pups),
they are being overfished faster than they can reproduce.

Because of all the pollution we’ve dumped into the ocean, shark fin now contains high amounts of
harmful pollutants such as mercury. Yum.

Shark news and research

• Hysteria over shark risk to swimmers unfounded (The Courier-Mail, Australia, November 3,
2009)
• No finners, only losers (Sustainable Sushi, October 19, 2009)
• Ban on ‘barbaric’ shark finning (BBC News, October 10, 2009)
• Video summarizing shark finning in Spain (Shark Alliance, October 7, 2009)
• Palau pioneers ’shark sanctuary’ (BBC News, September 27, 2009)
• USA’s Shark Conservation Act of 2009
• Fin: a 2009 short film, winner of People’s Choice Award in the ‘I Shot Hong Kong’ Film
Festival
• Video trailer for 2007 documentary called Sharks in Deep Trouble
Shark Truth

Shark Truth is a not-for-profit consumer awareness campaign that seeks to engage consumers in
a collaborative discussion to find alternatives to shark fin soup. We are dedicated to promoting
awareness around the irreversibly detrimental effects of the shark finning industry, specifically
working with (and not against) consumers.

The team realized that existing campaigns (such as

WildAid’s Shark Conservation Program and Sea Shepherd’s Defending Sharks campaign) were not
creating a dialogue with the Chinese community about the practice of shark finning. While these
campaigns and others have done a great deal to raise the profile of this issue, they have mainly
focussed on the supply side of the situation. Shark Truth, by choosing to focus their efforts on the
demand side, have a chance to develop awareness amongst the culture and community that
constitutes the largest market for shark fin. As Chinese Canadians, the team’s sensitivity to both
the cultural and ecological facets of the problem provide them with an opportunity to effect real
change. They know that another attack campaign full of images of blood and gore is not going to
reach the Chinese community, so they are instead seeking ways to collaborate with the
consumers of shark fin soup to find alternatives.

As a city, Vancouver represents the largest market for shark fin soup in Canada, and a major
proportion of Canada’s Chinese population: 75% of Canadian Chinese live in either Vancouver or
Toronto. Shark Truth’s organizers hope to make Vancouver the first step in a broader campaign.
They have begun both Personal and Wedding Pledges to “Stop the Soup”, and have provided
information on the website and other campaign materials (including Shark Truth info in fortune
cookies!) about the unsustainable and inhumane practice of shark-finning.

I have been interested in the campaign and their unique approach since I first heard about it. In
order to assist, I undertook the development of the Shark Truth website. In collaboration with the
team, I designed and implemented a custom look and feel for the website, using WordPress as the
CMS, and developed identity materials to match the existing logo. In addition to this role, I
advised on web and social media strategy, and consulted on technology selection and
maintenance.

The campaign is off to a great start. The Launch Event at Wild Rice was sold out, raising over
$2000 for the campaign, and featured a presentation by world-renowned marine biodiversity
researcher Dr. Nick Dulvy, IUCN Shark Specialist Group Co-Chair. Since then, we’ve had lots of
interest from the community, including a pledge to not serve shark’s fin soup at a 1000 person
wedding! That’s a lot of sharks who get to keep swimming a little longer.

It’s been a pleasure working with the team, and I fervently hope their passion and perseverance
will help to slow and eventually reverse the demand for shark fin. Sustainability requires a
thorough reassessment of how we use our planet’s limited resources. Sometimes this means slow
changes. In other cases, such as this, change must be rapid and resolved in order to make a
difference, else we risk losing one of Earth’s oldest and most beautiful predators, and with them
the balanced ecosystems that have sustained our oceans for millenia.