# Gordon Ramsay on Shark Finning



## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Part 1





Part 3


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

What if the shark has been killed or died on shore or killed because it was a man eater? Could the meat and such not be used? I can't remember if I've ever had sharkfin soup before tho I would not mind given it a try sometime just to see how it is.


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## J-P (Feb 27, 2011)

thanks for the links

I have tried it and it is deeeelish!!


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

I had it many times and agree that it doesn't seem to be anything special. It's all about tradition and "status"....both things I don't hold in high regard with out reason. It's like bird nest soup. Had it lots as a kid at banquets, but it got way too expensive cause the bird population was reduced cause the nests were being knocked down to be harvested....and killing the eggs in them. I think shark fin soup became more popular cause the price of bird nest soup got so much higher. Shark fin replaced bird nest soup at banquets. Bird nest soup was very delicious, but I can't tell if it was the other ingredients or the nest...I was too young to tell back then.


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## dchow (Oct 30, 2009)

Riceburner said:


> I had it many times and agree that it doesn't seem to be anything special. It's all about tradition and "status"....both things I don't hold in high regard with out reason. It's like bird nest soup. Had it lots as a kid at banquets, but it got way too expensive cause the bird population was reduced cause the nests were being knocked down to be harvested....and killing the eggs in them. I think shark fin soup became more popular cause the price of bird nest soup got so much higher. Shark fin replaced bird nest soup at banquets. Bird nest soup was very delicious, but I can't tell if it was the other ingredients or the nest...I was too young to tell back then.


Both are naturally flavorless or very close to flavorless. Bird's nest sort of melts away when made in soups where as sharks fin can be picked out. The taste of both soups is quite good when prepared. However, since both ingredients add very little flavor the soups can be replicated without them.

That being said Bird's nest has become significantly cheaper in recent years where as shark's fin has risen dramatically. This is mainly the result of the commercial farming of swallows nest as opposed to the old method of wild collection. Shark's fin is still (to my knowledge) a wild caught ingredient. Demand has risen dramatically since China's economy has grown while stock has been decimated. They're both seen as status symbol foods and have a perception of health benefits.

-shrug-

Its a failing battle to try to change the opinion of 1B+ people to change their minds on something that is tradition. I would say every Chinese wedding banquet I have attended had shark's fin soup on the menu. Its not something that will change overnight especially when its an ingrained tradition.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Change can happen though. It used to be bird nest soup when I was a kid, now it's shark fin. We just need another endangered species to decimate and it will switch from shark fin.


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## stim (Apr 20, 2011)

Gordon's footage is pretty tame. Have a look at this one:


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

If you are interested in this, AND sharks in general, you gotta checkout SHARKWATER. I have it on blueray, it's amazing.

Here is a low rez trailer:


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## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Such ignorance "There's only one kind of shark".


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

the practice of shark finning for soup is absolutely disgusting.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

In my opinion, if you take an animals life (especially an apex predator), you should utilise as much of the animal as possible. Not cut off three fins (for a tasteless soup ingredient) and dump the rest overboard. Not a good idea.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

I think most of us would be in agreement to that. The question is how to stop the practice. You are trying to stop a whole country's (or more) tradition and almost a whole ethnicity.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Replace, Re-educate, Regulate............. or something.
Finning has become a world wide black market practice.
It will be no small task, but it would be a worothy one.

It'll need something of a revolution, because there is already a congress of countries who meet yearly to agree that shark fishing at all is illegal, however the level of money to be made from it on the black market is enough to buyout countries (many shark baring countries are in the poverty level, so this is easily done by black marketeers). All this is detailed on the movie SHARKWATER. The good thing is that it could be supported by a multitude of professions from biologists, ocean farmers, and etc. from any coastal country in the world, since they are all affected by this. This is a *Shark genocide*, one that started only about a _century ago- but is now nearing it's end within a few decades_, of an important animal that have existed since around _500 Million years ago._

A similar problem is dolphin fishing, which is currently undergoing major changes for the good due to a mostly successful program fronted by Richard O'Barry (the man behind Flipper), and his movie THE COVE, which was finally shown within Japan last year, where it was previously banned. This should give hope for the similar problem of shark finning, which is also fueled by old tradition and big money.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

I was going to mention The Cove too. But ppl look at sharks differently than the smiling dolphin. The shark needs PR! Ppl are so ruled by emotional responses....and false beliefs.


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