Written by RACHEL FOBAR
Screening of shark fin soup samples from the United States found that the grey mackerel shark is one of the main sources of food fins, while its wild population continues to decline, and its living environment is worrying. Photo by BRIAN J. SKERRY, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
If you're in Los Angeles, you might order a shark fin soup takeaway from the Chinese restaurant "VIP Building" on a whim.
But in fact, this is against local laws. California is one of 12 states that have banned the sale of shark fins, hoping to curb the decline in shark populations and stop the cutting of shark fins. As early as 2000, cutting shark fins was banned in all U.S. waters.
A man who identified himself as the brother of the owner of the "VIP Building" argued that the list of dishes provided online was wrong and that the catering company did not serve the dish.
The concept of cutting fish fins involves cutting shark fins raw on a sea vessel and throwing the remains of their remains into the sea, where sharks that have lost their fins are unable to swim, sink to the bottom of the sea, have difficulty breathing, and mostly die of excessive blood loss or being eaten by other predators.
"Without a doubt, this is the cruelest and worst cruelty I have ever seen." Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay said in a TV documentary about the shark fishing industry.
Every year, the Animal Welfare Association, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, continues to support the state in enacting a shark fin ban and continuously updates the list of restaurants that serve shark fin soup and other dishes to the law enforcement departments of the relevant state capitals.
But the association's investigation found that to date, at least 10 of the 12 states have not required any restaurants to close for selling shark fin soup.
The photo was taken in February 2011 at a market in San Francisco's Chinatown. In 2013, California began implementing a shark fin ban. Photo by JIM WILSON, THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX
In the past two years, at least five bills involving a ban on shark fin trade have been submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. But all 5 bills failed to pass, and the fate of sharks in the United States is still dismal.
The environmental group Wildlife Rescue aims to reduce the consumption of wildlife products, and Peter Knights, the organization's executive president, said that many countries do not regulate the shark fin industry. In the view of some activists, if the United States passes a shark fin ban, other countries that have not banned the shark fin trade will increase the number of sharks killed, which will not do much to boost the global shark population.
A quarter of the world's shark, ray and silver mackerel population is under serious threat due to overfishing and demand driven by shark fin consumption. A 2012 study said scientists found DNA information on eight shark species in shark fin soup samples collected across the United States, including the endangered Hammerhead shark, as well as the vulnerable grey mackerel shark and white-spotted horn shark.
Shark fin soup has always been an upscale delicacy in Asian countries, and the history of Chinese shark fin soup can be traced back to an emperor in the Song Dynasty, with the purpose of showing nothing more than his authority and wealth. In China, shark fin soup and abalone, sea cucumber and fish maw are collectively known as the four major cuisines.
Today, shark fin soup is a premium ingredient for thanking guests at wedding receptions. The process of making shark fin soup involves boiling the fins, scraping off the skin and flesh, leaving cartilage, and then shredding and putting it in the soup.
In U.S. states that have enacted shark fin bans, understaffing has become a major problem for law enforcement. Some also say that cases involving shark fin bans are difficult to deal with because the shark fin trade is mostly hidden underground and somewhat similar to the drug trade.
"I knew they were doing things, but there was no way to get started." William O'Brien, head of the San Francisco Seafood Management Department, said, "It's very stealthy, it's not as simple as selling it to the public in broad daylight." ”
In addition, according to several law enforcement agencies, most of the fines and detentions imposed for violating the shark fin ban are insufficient, which has actually increased the momentum of violations.
Knights believes that if the United States enacts a ban on shark fin sales, it will be an important stop on the way forward, because it is a clear signal to stop the sale and consumption of shark fin soup. Conversely, as long as shark fin sales are not curbed, all sharks around the world will continue to be under pressure to survive.
But Robert Hueter, head of the Shark Research Center at Mott Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, argues that the difficulties in enforcing the shark fin in the states that have enacted shark fin bans have awakened us to the fact that a nationwide shark fin ban will only force the shark fin trade deeper underground, as san Francisco has done.
The process of making shark fin soup involves boiling the fins, scraping off the skin and flesh, leaving cartilage, and then shredding and putting it in the soup. Photo by JOHANNES EISELE, AFP/GETTY
The law enforcement dilemma
Asians in California make up one-third of the country and are the main consumer of shark fin soup outside of Asia.
In 2011, california passed a shark fin ban, and William O'Brien of San Francisco's Seafood Management Department said he was so excited that he had already made a list of monitored restaurants for the day the ban was enforced.
Shortly after the ban was passed, O'Brien and his team received a whistleblower from a supplier who had seized nearly 1,000 kilograms of shark fins from a warehouse near San Francisco Bay. It is estimated that it will sell for at least $500,000. The defendant in the case, Michael Kwong, is a shark fin wholesaler and an opponent of the shark fin ban, and his family has been trading shark fin for four generations. He confessed to the violation, and the record of the sentence at the time showed that he was detained for 30 days, paid a fine, and sentenced to a 3-year suspended sentence.
However, according to O'Brien, there were no more effective clues. He speculated that restaurateurs and market owners no longer stored shark fins on corporate grounds, but rather hid them in their homes so that law enforcers could not enter private homes without a search warrant.
"The fact that the shark fin market has become extremely hidden, and if you want to dig up clues, you must be familiar with the doorways, and obviously I don't have such conditions." O'Brien said.
O'Brien's responsibilities cover a wide range of areas, including monitoring the illegal ivory trade, the pet trade, illegal animal products for medicinal purposes, and the daily verification of hunting and fishing licences. So every month, he can only devote two days to the shark fin case.
"If I could focus on the same field every day like a shark fin practitioner, I would definitely be able to dig out a lot of lawbreakers." O'Brien sighed.
Another factor that complicates the case is that restaurateurs accused of selling shark fin soup argue that they are selling imitations or that shark species of ingredients used are not on the ban list. In New York State, for example, the white-spotted horned shark and the great star shark are not on the ban list. Raw and cut shark fins may identify shark species, but once dried or soaked in soup, dna tests are relied upon to determine its species.
DNA verdicts
To confirm whether the suspects in the case really broke the law, authorities must establish an effective DNA testing mechanism to find shark ingredients that really belong to the ban list in the seized shark fin soup. Ashley Spicer, a test analyst from the Wildlife Forensic Laboratory of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said shark fin soup in plastic takeout containers and shark fins refrigerated in vacuum seals are very different in DNA testing.
Spicer was first-hand exposed to shark-related cases in California in 2018, with a total of 4. Two of them were related to shark fin soup and the other two were from shark attacks and poaching cases. As a result, a total of 20 shark fins were tested in two shark fin cases.
California authorities are conscientious about every shark fin case, but the number of shark fin samples that need to be tested depends on a number of factors. For example, when a suspect in a case confesses only part of the charges, authorities consider DNA testing on their shark fin samples.
Recently, a case in Plano, Texas, proved the need for DNA testing, and the state also enacted a shark fin ban. Mike Stephens, head of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and a colleague went to a local restaurant in plainclothes to ask for a special menu, which turned out to be "shark fin soup."
These are shark fins seized by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Courtesy photo: CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
Stephens deliberately questioned the authenticity of the ingredients for shark fin soup, and the lady of the restaurant took them to the freezer, where at least 6 bags of shark fins were stacked. The owner Qi Zhou and the hostess did not doubt the identity of the two "customers", and the hostess also said that the restaurant selling shark fin soup was far more than her family, and the adjacent supermarket had shark fin soup for sale.
Soon, Stephens and colleagues walked into the nearby "Tao Home Supermarket" and found that there were 40 sharks for sale in the aisles and storage areas of the fresh fish area, and the tail fin had been removed.
Wearing rubber gloves to avoid contaminating the evidence, they took samples from two discovery areas, encapsulated them in containers, and sent them overnight to a laboratory in North Carolina for DNA testing.
However, the case against the supermarket remains unresolved, while the owner of the restaurant next door expressed remorse for selling shark fin soup and paid a fine of $1. According to Stephens, the court also asked restaurateurs to initiate donations to the Animal Welfare Association, but the total amount was less than $1,000.
In most states, including Texas, there are very few cases of prison sentences for violating shark fin bans, and in most cases, first-time offenders will not exceed 6 months, the association said. Fines also rarely exceed $1,000. In contrast, air-dried shark fin soup weighing just 0.45 kilograms costs $400, and shark fin soup sells for different prices from $50 to $200.
"Jailing for wildlife crimes is not an easy task." Jesse Paluch, head of the Environmental Crime Investigation Bureau of the New York State Department of Environmental Protection, said, "In New York State, judges and prosecutors have seen too many crimes, and wildlife crimes seem less conspicuous." ”
Fins in the trash can
In October 1988, Robert Hueter led a team at the Mott Marine Laboratory when he heard from colleagues that a group of fishermen near the Florida corridor had used harpoons to hunt bottlenose dolphins and then use their blood and flesh to make shark bait. This was a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. After these fishermen catch the sharks, they cut their fins raw and throw the dying sharks into the sea.
Hearing this made Hueter extremely uncomfortable for a while. He hadn't heard of the act of cutting shark fins raw, so he contacted New York Times reporter Nelson Bryant, who later covered the explosive news. Today, shark fin cutting is a common topic in many documentaries, public protests and Facebook hotspots.
According to Hueter, it was illegal for these fishermen to kill dolphins for shark fins, but the act of cutting fish fins was not noticed. "In terms of harm to sharks alone, they are innocent." Hueter said angrily.
Since then, Hueter has begun to speak out for the shark's fate. At the same time, it is claimed that the shark fin ban on the United States will not reverse the fate of sharks around the world.
Heuter explains: "The people who implemented the shark fin ban underestimated the seriousness of the problem, thinking that banning the shark fin trade in the United States would save sharks around the world. This is an oversimplification of the problem and a distorted approach. ”
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay says cutting shark fins is the most brutal animal cruelty he's ever seen. Photo by BRIAN J. SKERRY, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
Hueter said he certainly opposes cutting fins and overfishing, but feels that cutting the fins of legally caught dead sharks should not be cruel; and banning a dish is unlikely to eliminate the cutting of shark fins, which has long been banned in U.S. waters. To be sure, however, the ban will inevitably result in the wasted fins of dead sharks.
Heuter further explains: "The ban will force fishermen to throw their fins in the trash, which is completely contrary to the idea that we accept to maximize the use of aquatic products. We harvest fish from the sea and don't want to throw away anything of value. ”
David Shiffman, a marine conservation biologist at Simon Fraser University Vancouver in Canada and owner of the popular Twitter account @whysharksmatter, believes that those who eat shark meat in other forms have no reason to criticize those who eat shark fin soup.
"Drinking a bowl of shark fin soup is cursed, while eating a piece of grilled gray mackerel shark steak is fine." He explains, "As a biologist who is committed to protecting sharks, I feel like you're eating dead sharks anyway. So, are we demonizing shark fin soup too much? ”
In an alternative to the national ban, Hueter drafted "Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Actions" in 2018, and Florida Republican Daniel Webster intends to advance a conference on the subject. According to Hueter, the draft requires that sharks can only be imported fresh from specific countries, which must ban the cutting of shark fins and really promote the cause of shark protection.
But Susan Millward, head of the marine animal program at the Animal Welfare Society, insists that a blanket ban is the best solution.
"Even if you run a sustainable shark fin trade, it's bound to evolve into a fin cutting trade. Because there are always people who will flout the true meaning of the law and thus be opportunistic. ”
"No buying and selling, no harm"
In the advertisement, Chinese basketball star Yao Ming pushes a ceramic bowl containing shark fin soup to the other side of the table, and in the aquarium next to it, a computer-simulated shark sinks under the water and bleeds. "Remember, there's no harm without buying and selling." Yao Ming said to the camera.
Since 2011, the amount of shark fin soup consumed in China has fallen by 80 percent, partly thanks to the state ban on serving the dish at government banquets and the promotion of many celebrities, including Yao Ming, whose audience is very large.
According to a 2018 wildlife rescue report, when the group launched an anti-shark fin wave in China in 2006, 75% of Chinese consumers did not know that the ingredients in shark fin soup came from sharks, and many people thought that shark fins could grow again after cutting off their fins.
Many environmentalists believe that efforts to promote ideology in the United States can help curb irrational demand. Millward argues: "People usually don't care much about where the ingredients come from. This may be related to the cognitive situation of the background of the ingredients, people do not know where the ingredients come from, the situation of the living animals, and the subsequent processing steps. These animals died very painfully, and the entire ecosystem was severely affected. Why is that? ”
Her question extends to another question mark: Why shark fin soup? Shark fin soup is known to not add any flavor to dishes and is not good for health; second, it makes the soup appear jelly-like, and its noodle-like texture can be imitated with mung bean puree or melon puree; in addition, shark fins contain more cartilage, which takes simmering for hours or even a whole day to soften it. "Why don't you use my belt to cook for 24 hours and then you can eat it?" Knights said helplessly.
Ironically, as environmentalists argue, chefs and many consumers admit that shark fin soup comes from chicken soup with a base and has nothing to do with shark fin soup. The topic has sparked several worldwide debates, and numerous letters have been received from the U.S. Congress, which has led to massive advocacy.
(Translator: Kiyozumi Shikami)
Source: National Geographic Chinese Network (Official V)