Shark fin soup alters an ecosystem (CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Lisa Ling
Special to CNN


KAOSHIUNG, Taiwan (CNN) --
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Shark fin soup is a delicacy reserved for the wealthy on special occasions and it has been part of Chinese culture for centuries. For years, only rich Chinese mostly in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore consumed it, so the impact on the overall shark population was negligible.

Over the last decade, the exploding middle class in China has changed the fate of the shark. With an unprecedented number of people making more money than ever, the demand for all things that signal an improvement in status is gargantuan. The ability to serve and consume shark fin soup is among the most revered of activities, because it signifies that one has made it.

Shark fin soup can be expensive. A bowl of imperial shark fin soup can cost upwards of $100. These days, shark fin soup is so fashionable that it's becoming commonplace. Buffets serve versions of it for as low as $10 a bowl. The irony is that shark fin is flavorless -- its cartilage has a chewy consistency. Tens of thousands of sharks are being killed for a gelatinous thing in a soup.

To satiate the appetites of upwardly mobile Chinese, fishermen traverse all corners of the Earth's oceans in search of sharks or, more specifically, their fins. Because space is limited on fishing vessels and shark bodies are bulky and not considered as valuable, fishermen often catch the sharks, saw off their fins and toss the sharks back into the water. Without their fins, sharks cannot swim and they sink to the ocean floor, where they're picked at by other fish and left to die. See photos of Taiwan's shark finning trade »
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But at this port, we see more fins than bodies as a forklift scoops up large piles of fins and dumps them into a truck. There are no signs of anyone monitoring the weight ratio or making sure there's no illegal fishing of the five shark species protected under international treaty.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/10/pip.shark.finning/index.html

The worst of capitalism meets the worst of unquestioning tradition ... and whole species pay the price.

[Nihil]

1. A tragic example of the short-sighted & selfish stupidity of humans.

> The worst of capitalism meets the worst of unquestioning tradition
> ... and whole species pay the price.

Capitalism + "cultural tradition" = death

One of the many epitaphs for the human race.

K & R.