Shark Fin Soup for Dummies

There’s nothing like a warm bowl of soup on a chilly day. Clam chowder. Minestrone. Cream of celery. Shark fin. Garden vegetable. Wait a minute – shark fin soup? For those of you who have not tried it, it is a traditional Chinese soup served on special occasions which costs a pretty penny. Like the name implies, it contains cut up cartilage from a shark’s fin and is often accompanied with thinly sliced pieces of chicken or pork simmered in a chicken broth.

For the record, I have eaten shark fin soup numerous times at Chinese weddings and baby banquets and must admit it is a tasty soup. However after watching the documentary Shark Water, I’ve discovered that tastiness comes with a hefty price.

The Demand for Shark Fin Soup

The origins of shark fin soup date back to the Ming Dynasty and was originally only available to the upper class due to its costly main ingredient. The affordability of this delicacy has trickled down to the middle class and demand for this soup is increasing as it is seen as a status symbol.

The desire for shark fin soup is very ingrained in Chinese culture. I was surprised to see this firsthand in my own parents who have emigrated from China decades earlier. Recently we held a baby banquet to celebrate the birth of my baby daughter. While selecting a menu, my husband and I had an argument with my parents over shark fin soup after explaining that we didn’t wish to support the shark fin industry.

My parents insisted on serving the special soup to guests because, “People will be bringing you gifts and they will expect a good meal. Shark fin’s soup is the best soup for this occasion.” When we asked the waitress if we could find a substitute for it, she looked at us like we were crazy. The only other available soup was a much “cheaper” fish based soup that was “unacceptable.” After a losing battle, tradition won, but in a small stand, my husband and I skipped this dish when it was served.

Left for Dead

So, what exactly are all the environmentalists and animal activists getting so upset about? There are a number of reasons: the main reason being the inhumane way in which the sharks are killed. The coveted fins are often slashed from a living shark while the body is left behind; the shark dies a slow painful death as it slowly sinks to the depths of the ocean while its carcass is eaten by other fish. Shark meat is not worth very much and therefore not worth the trouble and money required to transport it.

Although the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s states that shark finning is in direct violation of its Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, countries with their own coastline are responsible for governing their own waters which makes it difficult to ban this practice. In Shark Water, the filmmakers expose this multi-billion dollar industry by having covert camera crew film the illegal operations of one group in the act of drying thousands of harvested shark fins on roof tops.

Environmentalists want to protect this great predator as its decrease in numbers throws off the delicate balance of the oceans’ ecosystems. Since sharks are at the top of the food chain, the decline in population affects every species below it. According to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, “removing sharks will increase octopus populations resulting in greater predation on lobsters by octopus. This was the very reason that the spiny lobster fishery collapsed in Tasmania.” Approximately 100 million sharks are killed each year solely for their fins which is clearly an unsustainable number and threatens local fisheries with sound practices.

Bad PR for Sharks

With movies like Jaws it’s no wonder sharks have such a bad reputation. In reality, approximately 12 people are killed per year by shark attacks. This is a very low number compared to the number of people killed by car accidents for example. Because sharks are portrayed as vicious predators, it is harder for the general public to feel a need to protect them when they can instead defend cute, cuddly panda bears.

The highly coveted fins of a shark are actually tasteless. While some chefs claim that shark fins bring out the delicate flavour in shark fin soup, it is actually the chicken broth that provides the bulk of the taste. Besides being tasteless, shark fins have virtually no nutritional value. While this article focuses on shark fins, other body parts of a shark are also harvested for cosmetics and products (wallets and belts) such as their skin, cartilage and liver oil.

Culture Change

Unless we can find a way to stop every single boat from illegally obtaining shark fins, the only other way we can protect the sharks is to reduce the demand for them. Unfortunately demand for shark fin soup is increasing at 5% a year. How can we stop the desirability of shark fin soup, an ancient Chinese dish that has been around for centuries? If change is to come at all, it will happen very slowly by the new generations who may be better informed about the huge impact this expensive soup has on the environment. But by that time, will it be too late?