Do ya like shark fin soup?

[Zagnut]

That's my philosophy. Nothing wrong with eating shark. It just disgusts me to see so much of the fish wasted. Also, I wish folks would excercise a little restraint when it comes to harvesting them into extinction. Think of how many mouths 100 million sharks would feed. I'm sure it wouldn't meet the demand, but I would like to see the industry look into farming them or some other means of meeting demand without decimating the shark population.

Same goes for tigers and bears. If someone wants to eat tiger penis soup or bear pancreas, I guess that's their business, but no need to waste the rest of the animal, and no need to drive them into extinction.

 

[Boogie711]

As are my opinions on why PETA won't take up the issue.

Basically, it's because no one in Berkeley, California will make a donation to PETA to support their pet shark named Fido.

Incidentally, a lady in Korea sells microwavable dog meat - PETA is going after her, but they're leaving the shark finners alone.

 

[PK]

The fin in the soup is considered a fortune booster, the bigger the fin the more spiritual or power you get from it. As a result, the fishermen go after the biggest species of shark and ignore the rest. So that species is now threatend to exstinction.

The fishermen chop off the parts they want and throw the live shark back in the water to die a cruel hard death. I don't know if the link in this thread showed that because I couldn't bring myself to open it.

Lack of regulations, money, and enforcement is getting in the way of eliminating this cruelty.

 

[lanun]

i think wider publicity using the gross, wriggling, dying shark might be the ticket - the equivalent of the clubbed baby seal poster. harness the power of the net to spread the message, so to speak.

another is a wedding picture i saw a year or so ago, complete with dead, finless sharks, as part of a Say No To Shark Fin campaign, i think. i believe it was from a Dive outfit in Singapore. pretty powerful, too, but might not be fashionable to hang at the bus stops and malls.

 

[jiveturkey]

Boogie711 once bubbled...
Incidentally, a lady in Korea sells microwavable dog meat - PETA is going after her, but they're leaving the shark finners alone.

That sounds quite a bit off. Koreans don't eat the stuff very often and when they do, they like it freshly beaten. The meat is expensive. It's not quite Stoffer's.

 

[jray]

I went to Korea and asked about the dog. I was told it's not eaten very much. After that my Korean friends gave me grief at every meal. Told me I was eating dog tacos, dog sanwiches, dog omlettes, etc. Made it really hard to eat. I'm not sure if I actually ate any

 

[Boogie711]

That sounds quite a bit off. Koreans don't eat the stuff very often and when they do, they like it freshly beaten. The meat is expensive. It's not quite Stoffer's.

One of many sources, found with Yahoo and "Microwavable Dog Meat."

Note where it says "International animal rights groups have condemned the practice as barbarous..."

My point remains the same - a time honoured custom in a local culture is open for attack, because it will make for good fundraising. But it's hard to make money doing fundraising for "Save the Sharks."

 

[scuba-punk]

Has anyone read anything about these coral calcium supplements? Smells like shark cartalage to me... The websites that I've seen selling the stuff claim that the government of Japan strictly regulates the harvesting of coral to only "vacuuming" the sea floor around the reefs. OK, so you mean to tell me that the same government who just harvested 400 Minke whales for research (and sold the meat on the wholesale market), and finds nothing wrong with finning sharks, actually cares about a reef? Somehow I don't think that the coral calcium tablets would sell as well if they were labeled "Parrotfish Poop Caps." Ugh, time for bed.

-Frank

 

[mollydog18]

unfortunately I suspect this finning problem- as well as the issue of people not putting their foot(s?) down about it stems from:
*bad rep./misrepresentation of sharks
*not realizing importance of sharks to oceans
*not realizing risk of extinction many sharks face
*opinion still held by many that the only good shark is a dead shark

IMO- until opinion of general public changes we can expect to see more of this and govts doing (mostly) nothing about it

 

[QKRTHNU]

Sounds like we need more shark farms.

I've had shark steaks before. Pretty tasty. I can't believe that people really catch wild sharks and just take the fins.

I would have to believe that a shark farm could make much more money seeing as the whole shark would be sold. Meat, Fins, oil, cartilage, etc.