Shark fins are harvested from the animals in a process called finning. The practice is wasteful, unsustainable and ecologically unsound. In the process of finning, sharks are caught on long-lines (literally, miles of line floating in the oceans affixed with hooks and bait), brought to the boat, their fins are hacked off, and the mutilated, but live animals are then thrown back in to the water where they die. The shark carcasses are discarded to make space on the boat for more fins since shark meat is not as profitable as fins.
Recent Ban on Shark Finning:
In a series of actions over 1993-2002 the United States banned shark finning by U.S. fishing boats. In 2004, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas banned shark finning in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea. In 2005 the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) adopted by consensus a Resolution on Sharks that includes binding measures to ban shark finning (using a 5% fin to carcass ratio), improve shark catch data collection and establish a shark status advice & assessment process for IATTC- managed fisheries in the Pacific Ocean. As with that agreement, the IATTC Resolution also encourages live release of unwanted sharks, efforts to improve gear selectivity and research into shark nursery areas. In addition, the IATTC Resolution calls on countries to implement national plans of action for sharks, in accordance with the FAO International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. These steps are extremely important for the conservation of shark species; however illegal shark finning is still taking place and greater enforcement and larger fines are needed. In addition, due the trans-ocean movements of many pelagic shark species as well as the connectivity of the oceans, international shark finning regulations will need to be adopted by all fishing countries in all the world's oceans to conserve and regulate worldwide shark stocks.
Source:
http://www.neil4sharks.org/sharkconservation.html
Thank you for all the information. I think that selling this product is immoral and Amazon, as a large international corporation, should act in a social responsible manner. I invite the board of directors and all employees at Amazon to spend time understanding the meaning of corporate/social responsibility
Funny enough, they sell one of the best books on the subject (Saving the Corporate Soul--and (Who Knows?) Maybe Your Own by D. Batsone) on their own website:
http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Corporate-Soul-Knows-Maybe/dp/0787964808/sr=1-5/qid=1167921320/ref=sr_1_5/105-1737700-3107643?ie=UTF8&s=books
Amazon board of directors, please focus on the principle of treating the environment as a silent stakeholder which you are currently ignoring.
There is another shark fin at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/14-1-SHARKFIN-SOUP-CRAB-MEAT/dp/B00019FVV8/sr=1-13/qid=1167910431/ref=sr_1_13/002-6820006-4498403?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet-food
Shame on you Amazon!!!!
Many species of sharks are on the verge of becoming extinct by excessive fishing. Millions and millions of these top predators of the sea are caught, their fins are cut off and the living torsos are thrown over board - still alive, but unable to swim and are condemned to a cuel slow death.
We need the sharks alive because they are the top of marine ecosystem and they keep it healthy and in balance. Way more than 200 million sharks are killed annually. More than 47 species are on list of endangered animals. Some species are already considered extinct because there are not enough heads left reach maturity and reproduce in numbers that guarantees the survivial of the species.
Yes, we all know that "shark finning" is an abhorrent practice. I was just curious if anyone posting all these negative reviews and screaming for the removal of this product knows *for fact* that this product uses "finned" sharks, as opposed to simply using shark fins taken from sharks that are not "finned" (ie., sharks that are fished and used for other purposes as well -- fillets, steaks, whatever).
I understand and agree with the concern, but it just seems to me that the negativity being posted *about this product* is kneejerk reactionism.
I have contacted Pacific Rim Gourmet inquiring as to how much they know about the creation of this product and to verify or quash the speculation. Hopefully, Amazon.com has only pulled the product temporarily while they investigate it for themselves.
Okay, so they might use "finned" sharks in certain products. But do we really have to hunt and kill sharks? I've heard that shark meat isn't that great to begin with, there are many (tastier) fish species out there that are not being hunted to extinction. It's not like you and I live on a deserted island and have to hunt sharks to survive, is it...
Secondly, the big problem is that there are so many myths about the "effects" of shark products which are not even substantiated. Asking for removal of any type of shark products is not a knee-jerk reaction, it is an attempt to diminish the demand for these products to protect a species of amazing ocean dwellers. We still don't know enough about these animals.
In my opinion, the discussion should not be limited to sharks only, but to any species being hunted and killed for misguided reasons. There are so many folk medicine products in the world featuring just a small piece of one animal or another, and unfortunately there are still countries that do not prohibit killing an entire animal just for a tiny piece of it. Some of these animals are already on the endangered species list.
My point is that if we do not start somewhere, e.g. with shark products offered on a merchant portal such as Amazon, we will soon loose control over the protection efforts currently under way. We need to educate people to be selective - and if a highly popular site such as Amazon refuses to be selective, this does not bode well for our conservation efforts - and our future.
Shark Fin soup should be banned EVERYWHERE.
