Human Sharks?

Editor's Weekly Ramblings 146

July 6th 2006

Human Sharks?

We often hear of hungry sharks attacking people, but it also happens the other way around. Shark fin soup is becoming a more common menu item in upmarket Chinese restaurants despite its expensive price - more than ?100 ($200) a bowl in some London restaurants. In China, it's becoming more widespread as well: a symbol of prosperity, the soup was considered an inappropriate status symbol until 1987 when improving economic conditions created a market for it.

The demand for shark fin soup is increasing - and this could be damaging the ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands.

I've never tasted shark fins myself, but they are supposed to be noodle-like in texture when served in soups. Typically cooked for a long time until the fins become soft and separate into strips of cartilage, they are supposed to be tasteless on their own but absorb the flavour of the broth they are prepared in. At the exclusive Kai Mayfair restaurant in London, one of their shark fin soups includes abalone, chicken, ginseng and Chinese mushrooms - so I imagine these fins have plenty of flavours to take in.

Although food-lovers may be intrigued by this special dish, environmentalists are concerned about decreasing shark populations. The growing demand for shark fins could be damaging the fragile ecosystem in the Galapagos Islands, from where sharks are often obtained. In the past five years, an estimated 1.7 million sharks were exported from Ecuador for human consumption.

And it's not like conservationists haven't been doing anything about it: the trade of shark fins is illegal but continues nonetheless. Usually, it's not even the whole fish that is captured but solely the fins. Sharks are typically lifted from the water, have their fins cut off, and then are dropped back into the water where they bleed to death.