Groups want shark's fin soup off the menu<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (AP): International environmental groups have
\nlaunched a campaign in Hong Kong aimed at getting gourmands to
\ngive up one of their favorite delicacies: shark's fin soup.<\/p>\n
Some shark populations have declined by as much as 90 percent
\nas fishermen slaughtered up to 100 million sharks a year,
\nchopping their fins off and throwing them back into the sea to
\ndie, according to international groups WildAid and EarthCare.<\/p>\n
Shark's fin soup, which can cost up to HK$780 (US$100) a bowl,
\nis popular among Asians, especially Chinese, and is often the
\nhighlight of important occasions such as wedding banquets.<\/p>\n
The world trade in fins more than doubled from 3,011 tons in
\n1985 to 7,048 tons in 1997, the groups said.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong is the hub for the shark fin trade, with exports
\nsoaring from 2,420 tons in 1972 to 6,427 tons in 1999, said Peter
\nKnights, executive director of the San Francisco, California-
\nbased WildAid.<\/p>\n
Although consumption of shark fins in Hong Kong has declined
\nsomewhat, demand in China is skyrocketing as more mainlanders
\nbecome affluent, Knights said.<\/p>\n
The two groups urged an end to finning, the practice of
\nchopping off fins and discarding the rest of the shark, and urged
\nall shark-fishing nations to do more to ensure sustainable
\npopulations.<\/p>\n
\"We ask people to ban finning not because of cruelty, but
\nbecause of the waste,\" Knights said. \"You are wasting 99 percent
\nof the animal's meat. It also makes it difficult to regulate the
\nnumber of different shark species.\"<\/p>",
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