# Shark Fin Soup



## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I know most if not all of us have heard of this. But I just wanted to share this clip from National Geographics.

http://www.youtube.com/user/NationalGeographic#play/uploads/277/mCqPXhhxZIg

The words from 1:40 to 2:06 hit me the hardest.


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

You know, I *could* understand this if the whole of the animal was used. It is not like they couldn't use the meat of the shark for other purposes. Shark Steaks are supposed to be quite nice (I would assume certain species are more editable than others), but for the rest there are other opportunities for the use of the carcas. Skins for leathers, the meat for pet food, multitudes of uses. The fact that they are just throwing the carcas back into the water is the biggest waste I have seen in the fishing industry in a long time. It is unfortnate that they are not cute little performing animals like dolphins and thus a possible following willing to back the protection of the species like what happened with regards to tuna fishing.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I know!! if you already caught the fish, and at times already killed it. Why not keep the fish for other purposes mentioned above. 

What pisses me off the most is the fact that this cruel wasteful killing is for soup......


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

The other thing that is extremely disgusting is the fact that, as the video stated, these animals are sometimes still alive while their fins are being removed. If that was a cute cuddly puppy there would be a HUGE outcry over this cruelty.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

I can't view the video right now but I'm sure it is similar to the segment on CNN that I've seen before.

As much as I love shark fin soup, it disgusts me knowing how it is harvested. I cannot believe how ignorant these people are. Gets me upset when I think about it....


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

They should just genetically engineer a shark that grows extra fins for human consumption.

To me, any animal killing is cruel. Even cows/pigs for food. Although the killing is usually done in a manner that (we think) causes little pain and shortest possible time, killing is killing.

I have not watched the video yet, I'll do it when I get home tonight.


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

yeah that is pretty brutal, but who cares right the shark population can handle it. we need our soup! haha im kidding this is one of the most stupid things humans can do just for a tiny bit of food. i wonder whats next when sharks are extinct. Manatee limb soup?...


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

The trouble is the culture that drives the demand, yes I am Asian BTW 

It's tough to change those ideologies/shift cultural views in the country that created the demand where, generally speaking, the ppl themselves are not aware. Throw in the societal divide to who can afford to those that cannot, ego centrism, xenophobia...it's a duanting task to curtail this practice.

This is an area that I will support eco-terrorism


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

wtac said:


> The trouble is the culture that drives the demand, yes I am Asian BTW
> 
> It's tough to change those ideologies/shift cultural views in the country that created the demand where, generally speaking, the ppl themselves are not aware. Throw in the societal divide to who can afford to those that cannot, ego centrism, xenophobia...it's a duanting task to curtail this practice.
> 
> This is an area that I will support eco-terrorism


Careful... CSIS or the RCMP might be monitoring the boards 

This unfortunately is just one example of tradition causing harm to the ecology of the planet. I wasn't about to bring up the Asian culture thing and traditional mores within the culture. However that is definately not limited to just Asians. There are things in many cultures that are tradition that have caused harm to the planet and its' inhabitants. We need to open our eyes and start saying that this is wrong and will no longer be tolerated.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Well they/we almost destroyed the birds that made the nest that were used for bird nest soup....sharks are next, then???


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

Look what the Europeans have done to the Buffalo, and pretty much every big game animal out there... how many have we almost driven to extinction? No-one is exempt from the blame.


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

KnaveTO said:


> Look what the Europeans have done to the Buffalo, and pretty much every big game animal out there... how many have we almost driven to extinction? No-one is exempt from the blame.


for some reason my user name is offended when hears shark fin soup....


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Hitch said:


> I know!! if you already caught the fish, and at times already killed it. Why not keep the fish for other purposes mentioned above.
> 
> What pisses me off the most is the fact that this cruel wasteful killing is for soup......


They don't need the other part of the shark (its a burden to carry that many carcas). The meat doesn't taste good to the Asian, so rather than keeping it, (no one will buy) simply they just throw it back into the ocean



KnaveTO said:


> The other thing that is extremely disgusting is the fact that, as the video stated, these animals are sometimes still alive while their fins are being removed. If that was a cute cuddly puppy there would be a HUGE outcry over this cruelty.


If it is in rural part of China, they do club puppy / dogs and they eat them!!



Tropicana said:


> yeah that is pretty brutal, but who cares right the shark population can handle it. we need our soup! haha im kidding this is one of the most stupid things humans can do just for a tiny bit of food. i wonder whats next when sharks are extinct. Manatee limb soup?...


I don't see any brutalness in them... It's human!!! We are that BAD!!!

Have you ever been to the slaughter house??? They kill cow, pig or watever when they are pretty much alive!! The Inuit that club the seal (those cute furball) to make a living!!! Is that bad??? Then how can you say people kill those shark are cruel??? They are making a living (the world demands it) and that is part of their job as fishermen!

Its normal!!!



KnaveTO said:


> Careful... CSIS or the RCMP might be monitoring the boards


Even if they monitor this board, they wouldn't do a thing about it, because your not harming the people within this country or trying to kill people

Just like "Sea Sheperd" a group of environmentalist try to stop the Japanese Whaling fleet from stripping more whales from the ocean

They tried all sort of ways such as ramming their boat, throwing gases, and etc, isn't that some sort of ECO-TERRIORISM???? AND the whole world is supporting them!!!


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## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

i don't think it's just 'human' to kill an animal and then not use it. or not even kill it and throw it back to suffer until it dies. you can't really compare it to the inuit hunting because they don't waste any of the meat or organs in the seal. they use it all, and that's part of their beleif systems. they are also extremely isolated in the north and use it to sustain their people. killing a shark for it's fins is not going to sustain a culture. it's simply a luxury. if it was human nature to kill something for one small part of it all cultures would be doing it and no one would oppose. i'm sure there are some starving hungry people over there who would love some meat on their plate. the right cooking method and spices can make most foods palitable. also, in a slaughter house no one is taking a live chicken and cutting all it's limbs off and letting it go or sneakin up on a cow to cut ribs out of it's side. the animals are killed as humanely as possible. the parts that aren't used for feeding people are used for other things. domestic chickens and cows won't go extinct from people eating them. some cultures seem to have no respect for life, nature and the planet. they will ruin it for everyone and all future generations.


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## E-J (Aug 27, 2009)

Thats horrible!!!


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## aeri (Sep 9, 2007)

if there is a demand there will be a supply

inuits are not the only ones hunting seals. there's an annual canadian seal hunting event. the fact that it is annual makes it sound as if it's a hobby.

warning - potentially graphic


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

bigfishy said:


> I don't see any brutalness in them... It's human!!! We are that BAD!!!
> 
> Have you ever been to the slaughter house??? They kill cow, pig or watever when they are pretty much alive!! The Inuit that club the seal (those cute furball) to make a living!!! Is that bad???


haha well you see there is a whole world of difference, it takes a year for a female shark to produce about 6 young. and when we cant farm an animal like that it gets pretty detrimental to the species. Cows well. Very easy to farm grass and water to drink. pigs well same thing.Inuit Use every piece of the Seal and the Inuit pop is so low they barely impact the population up there. We are not Bad nothing we do is bad its nature, but we have to respect the rest of it so we don't kill our selves like we are which making animals go extinct and then ruining the food chain. common now .


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

yep. big difference between killing something and using all or most of it and hacking off a piece and letting it die afterwards.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

I've seen videos and read articles about this before. It's gone on for a long time only now with modern technology it's easier to engage in the wholesale slaughter of living things... humans included if you haven't noticed. Most cultures have at some point or other engaged in practices that were detrimental to an animal population without being terribly beneficial to the human one. I guess the real difference now is that in some countries regulations are strong and thoroughly enforced so that it is difficult to go about doing these things on a large scale whereas in some places it is not. 

For example, ivory was a prime luxury for europeans (and I guess pretty much every other culture around the world come to think of it lol) as were pelts of different animals and many of them were driven to extinction or nearly so. Now however, it is difficult to engage in the trade of such goods in Europe and North America so while the demand still exists and some black market deals are made the majority of us don't get into these things even if we'd like to. I for one, know a fair number of women who wouldn't mind owning a fur coat made out of some endangered species but because it's illegal and the cops look out for it they don't. Just look at the huge issue that arose over the ban of Canadian seal pelts in Europe. In a huge country like China which is still developing and has a MASSIVE population it's impossible to police such things even where laws do exist, therefore, the market remains lucrative. 

Personally, I'm in favor of highly regulated world-wide standards that would be heavily policed to ensure that collection was done in a sustainable fashion to ensure the survival of the species involved. While I'm also in favor of the collection being done in a kind, humane way I think we have to start treating each other in a kind, humane way before we're able to do that for animals. It might seem hard to believe but awful as what people do to animals is, they actually do FAR, FAR worse things to other human beings.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Well I tried shark fin soup last night at a Chinese wedding for the first time and I'm ashamed to say I liked it quite a lot. My parents oddly enough thought it was bland and added chilli and stuff to it lol. I spoke to two Chinese ladies at my table about it and they knew about the bad practices used for collection and thought it was awful and cruel but I think their mindset was the same as mine there. "The shark here is already dead, nothing can change that, and there's a delicious bowl of soup in front of me and at least if I eat that the shark's suffering didn't go to waste entirely. She also said that it was a delicacy and not something one normally eats but I imagine with a population over 1 billion the number of rich folks even if a small percent still constitutes a large number of people and therefore a threat to the shark. 

That said, if someone puts some shark fin soup in front of you, feel bad but eat the soup cuz it'll make you feel a little better .


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

It's too bad you may not get a chance to try bird nest soup....blows shark out of the water!!!!


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

lol my dad is supposed to be taking me to China with him soon and he's connected to all kinds of high end business guys there that offer him things far more exotic than bird's nest soup so maybe I'll be able to try some while Im there .


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Bring some back!!!


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

I have to say differently. While it's true that from my generation and up. We are keyed into this from childhood. I still tell my daugther that it's cruel to eat shark fin soup. And never encourage them to eat this stuff.
Let's be very honest here. Have you really really eaten shark fin by itself? Just plain shark fin? Those big fin one? It's practically tasteless. %90 of the taste from your shark fin soup comes from the ingredients used to make them. It's the chewy and crunchness that adds that other %5. The remain %5 is the sharks fishy taste. I admit that I eat shark fin soup and unfortunately have develope a craving for it. But I do avoid eating them when ever possible and hope that some day, can pass it by.

You know, that %5 of chewey and crunchyness could've easily been replace with some other man made stuff. It's practically tasteless anyway. And the fishy taste can be replace by any kind of fish.
To be honest, there is no excuss. It doesn't have to be this way.
Unfortunately, culture play a big part in this senseless killing.

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## Evans11 (Aug 7, 2009)

You should watch the movie "Shark Water". Its an excellent documentary about shark overfishing. Essentially for their fins only. Overfishing and cruelty of sharks is much worse then you might think. Not a boring movie either. Check it out. 
http://www.sharkwater.com/


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

even Cory wants some more shark fin soup 

What can you do to the whole culture???  

NOTHING!   

They survived 450 million years, BUT it ends here! 

Because Human is the TOP PREDATOR now!


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I am really hoping you are joking bigfishy.......



bigfishy said:


> Because Human is the TOP PREDATOR now!


a pretty stupid predator if you ask me, even animals know the idea of conservation...


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## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

bigfishy said:


> even Cory wants some more shark fin soup
> 
> What can you do to the whole culture???
> 
> ...


 
yes. haha. lets kill off the entire species for pleasure. aren't we great?


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

> yes. haha. lets kill off the entire species for pleasure. aren't we great?


I'm still waiting for some much more intelligent alien species to come and wipe us out for the good of the planet and probably the universe.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Cory said:


> I'm still waiting for some much more intelligent alien species to come and wipe us out for the good of the planet and probably the universe.


Actually, as a species, we're pretty adept at killing ourselves. Give us more time and we'll do it.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> Actually, as a species, we're pretty adept at killing ourselves. Give us more time and we'll do it.


At least not for food, though. I hope.


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

conix67 said:


> At least not for food, though. I hope.


cannabalism FTW!!! if your hungry enough!  I ate plenty of human in Fallout 3 



ameekplec. said:


> Actually, as a species, we're pretty adept at killing ourselves. Give us more time and we'll do it.


but not in our life time, I'd say about 300 - 500 years before we are all gone



Cory said:


> I'm still waiting for some much more intelligent alien species to come and wipe us out for the good of the planet and probably the universe.


6 billion years, sun burns out, we are all dead ^^ no need aliens 



bluekrissyspikes said:


> yes. haha. lets kill off the entire species for pleasure. aren't we great?


YES!!!

2 million year of evolution can wipe out a species that exist 450 million years

AWESOME!!!!

We are one GREAT LUMP of cell in the Evolution Process!



Hitch said:


> I am really hoping you are joking bigfishy.......
> 
> a pretty stupid predator if you ask me, even animals know the idea of conservation...


It's happening right now, it's happening at this moment as we argue over at this thread

AND ???? .......*silent*.........

WE are THAT stupid, if we are THAT smart, we wouldn't even be planning to kill each other



This is not something you can stop and it will stop, its a continous loop hole, it will continue and continue, until everything is gone


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

bigfishy said:


> cannabalism FTW!!! if your hungry enough!  I ate plenty of human in Fallout 3


LOL......well cannibalism still exists, I think we all heard of the story of the guy in Germany or something who actually posted an add asking to eat people...I dont want to go into the details XD


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