It's definitely not only Asians that's involved in this. Tesco in Phuket, Thailand (which is British owned) sales shark fins. I, and many others, send them an email saying:
"Dear Sir,
It has come to my attention that Tesco in Thailand is selling Shark Fin in the freezer department. As you may or may not be aware, the process of shark finning in the vast majority of cases involves the shark being caught on a long line (a terrible practice in itself) and dragged aboard the fishing boat where it has its fins cut off while alive before being thrown back in the water. If you are in any doubt about the process please go to the link below where Wild Aid and Ang Lee will explain the process
YouTube - Shark Finning PSA by Ang Lee for WildAid
I understand that Tesco UK may not be entirely responsible for Tesco in Thailand, but the store is very much under your banner and so representative of you in Asia, where as you will appreciate, there are many non-Asian holiday makers and expatriates who (as you will be aware) are more and more aware of environmental and conservation issues.
On your website you state that "We are playing our part in seeking to maintain a viable and long-term future for wild fish and shellfish populations. We seek to buy all our seafood from responsibly managed fisheries. We use the United Nations' Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries as our sourcing reference."
In response to that quote, shark populations world wide have NO future if finning continues at the current rate, and more importantly shark finning is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) International Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. Maybe you should read their documentation more thoroughly in the future.
I would like some kind of satisfactory response to this e-mail and would hope that this will lead to the swift removal of shark fin products from the shelves of Tesco Lotus in Thailand. As I know that my solo e-mail is likely to have very little impact I will be passing this on to as many people as I can as well as to all major wild life conservation and anti-shark finning organisations as I can think of in order to exert the pressure required to help in this matter.
Awaiting your response,
Sanna"
The reply I got was:
"Dear Sanna,
Thank you for your email.
I can advise like many other retailers in Thailand, Tesco sells shark fin in its stores as our customers expect to be able to buy it.
We know that we need to balance different cultural attitudes, in this case respecting the different traditions and values on this issue that exist in Thailand with the very important issue of sustainability and welfare. This is why we will conduct a review and take expert advice to ensure that we source shark in the most sustainable way possible.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us at
customer.service@tesco.co.uk quoting TES5624944X.
Kind Regards
Wayne Hansen
Customer Service Manager
Tesco Customer Service"
This goes to show that they do not care at all. I know this is a long post but I just want as many as possible to know about this, and if you do have the time please send them an email. They have to listen eventually!! I know that this is only a small part of it but Tesco is a large company so it's a start.
Thanks.
Sanna