Shark Finning:  The true cost of a bowl of soup

James Scarborough B.Sc

Finning refers to the removal of the fins from a shark, which is usually alive during the process, before dumping the animal back in the sea. The living animals then slowly sink towards the bottom and, unable to swim, die slowly of suffocation or being eaten alive by scavengers. There are no rules as far as species, age, sex or size of shark and any caught are finned - seemingly regardless of international treaties or protection.

These fins, which usually make up less than 10% of a sharks biomass, are the most valuable part of the animal, in some cases fetching over US$700/kg. Almost all of the fins consumed in the world are eaten in China, where shark fin soup is a highly prized and expensive delicacy, as well as being a symbol of power. However they are also consumed in other Asian countries including The Philippines.  The fins are also used in Chinese medicine, along with skin and bile, in an effort to strengthen the blood and as an aphrodisiac, although the trend with younger Chinese people is towards the food. Alarmingly, whilst fins and shark meat are eaten in all sorts of Asian cooking, from shark fin sushi and instant noodles to cookies, it is even possible to buy tinned shark fin cat food.

Fins themselves have almost no flavour, and are cooked in a broth with noodle and other meats. These meats give the fin itself flavour, whilst the fin merely adds bulk to the dish, which can sell for upwards of US$300 a bowl. This price is one of the reasons why it is so popular, serving it at your function or wedding shows your power and influence, and the fins are often served whole, to really emphasis what they are and how much they cost.

The fin’s structure is the reason why it is so sought after, and also the important factor in deciding its value. The ceratotriches, also known as fin needles, are the part which is eaten, thus making them the most prized part of the fin. Due to this, the fins are split into 2 categories, high grade and low grade.

Whilst Asia is the primary consumer, the fin trade is worldwide. The fin trade is very hard to monitor, as a high percentage is done illegally by small boats in countries without laws on finning.   Even here in The Philippines sharks are regularly finned.  In 2010 a Whale Shark was finned in Batangas and left to die.  Divers tried to help the giant fish in its final hours as it floundered in the shallows, slowly suffocating to death.  Most finning is carried out at sea, meaning that actual landing data can often be inaccurate. Not only this, once the fins have been removed, it is next to impossible to tell what shark they originally came from without using genetic markers. There are, however also legal shark fisheries, with the biggest one being in Indonesia.

Annually they fish over 100,000 tonnes of sharks, with an export price of US$13 million, and this is total shark biomass rather than just fins. However this doesn’t take into account the millions of tonnes caught by artisanal fishermen and the bycatch from trawling. With legal fisheries of this size, taking this many individuals and still not filling the demand for fins, it is not hard to imagine the huge fleet of unreported ships, often taking fins from sharks in places where they could and should be protected. Not only this, sharks protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), such as Whale Sharks, Rhincodon typus, are still being hunted illegally by both native fishermen and finning operations.

Over 100 million sharks are now fished every year, and sharks are now among the most valuable, and vulnerable, fish in the sea. It is now more profitable to traffic shark fins than it is to traffic drugs. This has resulted in many shark populations throughout the world to drop so that they face extinction. Sharks do not reproduce quickly, with most taking 6-7 years to reach sexually maturity and having litters between 2 and 40.  On top of this, most do not reproduce every year, so the number of offspring each individual has is very low compared to other fish.

Sharks and rays are crucial to the survival of many ecosystems. Elasmobranchs or sharks were never intended to be fished in the levels that they are, as shown by their life strategies. However, the over-exploitation of these organisms has left many ecosystems beyond recovery, and many elasmobranchs are on the verge of extinction. There is sufficient evidence worldwide which proves this, however there is not enough to show how much needs to be done to reverse the process. The fishing industry must implement changes to its current practise in an effort to reduce levels of elasmobranch bycatch, and reduce the numbers of elasmobranchs caught so that it becomes sustainable. Unfortunately, until the illegal fisheries are shut down, and legislation can be brought in that is effective at reducing shark mortality, the numbers of elasmobranchs fished will only increase. More research needs to be conducted to assess shark populations worldwide, enabling us to stop the mass, unnecessary slaughter before it is too late.

Evolution asks you to boycott any restaurant that serves Shark Fin Soup.  Tell your friends and families not to eat there.  Tell the restaurant why you will not eat there.