disney will serve shark fin

shark's fin soup. a must in every chinese banquet. unfortunately for disney, who plans to serve this tasty soup in their new disneyland in hongkong. how about a magical wedding in disneyland? wouldn't that be awesome? I would have loved it! I wouldn't have batted an eye over having shark's fin soup for my wedding reception. but according to a spokesperson for WWF HK,

'Serving these in wedding banquets will also make the bride and groom feel they are not doing something right'

seriously madam, especially in hongkong, I think it is more unusual for weddings not to serve shark fin. even chinese new year banquets. it is almost impossible to find a chinese restaurant that does offer shark fin soup as part of their chinese new year set menu. I personally had shark's fin soup 3 times this year for cny. so, what is the deal? google away. lots of articles, most untrustworthy because of the biased nature of the websites. so, taking the biased views into account, here are a few things I've learned.

1)CITES lists 3 species of sharks on their appendix II

Whale shark - Rhincodon typus
Great white shark - Carcharodon carcharias
Basking shark - Cetorhinus maximus

so what does this list mean?

'...Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled...'

so they are endangered to an extent. 2)was also reminded that shark, like other long-lived predator fishes have high levels of mercury.

3)a large percentage of sharks would survive capture if not finned.

'Some fisherman argue that a ban on shark finning is pointless, as the sharks will die anyway once caught on the line or in nets. However, data from the Hawaiian based tuna and swordfish longline fleet showed that 86% of sharks taken as bycatch are still alive when landed on deck. Research on Brazilian longline fisheries showed 88% of sharks alive when landed on deck. Taking into account that some individuals would be mortally wounded upon release, a very large percentage of sharks would survive if they were not finned. '

the most prominent campaign against shark fin is wildaid. their focus on the fareast is seen in their chinese website loveshark. unfortunately, they may also be extremists and unsubstantiated.

'To date, WildAid, EIA and others have exhibited a cavalier attitude toward the truth and demonstrate a penchant for mouthing emotion-filled but fact-empty statements about sharks and the environment in general. Let's hope our children learn to distinguish between the "donut" of resource conservation and the "hole" being peddled by WildAid and friends.'

here's another piece against wildaid.

4)singapore is one of the top 3 trading centers of sharks fin. wildaid singapore provides free 'why we don't serve shark fin soup at our wedding' cards.


more info on shark fin from the UN.
background, trade, processing
shark fin species

so, should I stop with the shark fin soup? singapore insists that most shark fin do not contain high levels of mercury. I find this believable because mercury is highest in the muscle. it doesn't help that the only report so far on mercury contamination in shark fin comes from wildaid. from the species table, lots of different species of sharks are used for shark fin soup. since fins are easily recognizable, finning of endangered species should be stopped. that leaves shark fin from the other species. sharks, like many other wildlife animals are decreasing in numbers. CITES currently has resolutions on sharks. so we expect to see tighter regulations on the trade of sharks. in the meantime, I don't think it is wrong of disney to serve shark fin in hongkong. I also will not object to having the soup if served during a banquet. I will however, think twice, as a host, about ordering shark fin soup for a banquet. serve abalone instead! but white abalone is also endangered you know.