Shark Finning

What is shark finning?

Shark finning is the disgusting practice of slicing off the fins of a live shark then discarding what's left into the ocean, leaving the sharks to die a slow, sad, gruesome death. The fins are then dried and sold as the main ingredient in the traditional Chinese dish, Shark fin soup. Every year millions of sharks are caught and farmed for their fins leaving millions of dead, decomposing, finless sharks at the bottom of the ocean floor. 

Why is it a delicacy? 

 the traditional dish Shark fin soup dates back to over 1000 years and it plays an important role as an indicator of social standing as shark fin soup can range anywhere above $100 for a single bowl. With the country become more wealthy the demand for shark fin soup has skyrocketed meaning more sharks are being caught for their fins. For such an expensive dish the fins are bland and have no taste, nor is there any nutritional value. Usually, there is flavoring added to the dish to give it a taste. 

How is this impacting our oceans? 

Sharks play a big role in keeping the food chain stable, as they are the apex predators. With the shark population decreasing rapidly due to shark finning and bycatch they are being pushed to extinction. This will destroy the ocean's ecosystem as a new predator will take the shark's place, with no predators the animals will overpopulate and run out of their source of food and eventually die out. This chain goes on and on until eventually there is nothing left.